


The Days of Our Lives: Villains

by Kihonne



Series: Heroes in the Making: An Elite Force [8]
Category: Mighty Med
Genre: Best Friends, F/F, F/M, Family, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Season/Series 02, Secret Relationship, Siblings, Superheroes, Teen Romance, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2020-01-05 22:04:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 109,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18374972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kihonne/pseuds/Kihonne
Summary: The Annihilator has turned Skylar evil, and now Oliver, Kaz, Alivia, and Dani must face the fact that one of their closest friends has turned to the dark side. Meanwhile, Kaz and Dani are keeping a huge secret from Oliver, one he may not forgive then for. Can they all put their fighting aside to save Skylar and stop the Annihilator? And who is this Mr. Terror who keeps trying to kill them? Based off of the original episodes of Mighty Med: Season Two, but will include other stuff as well.





	1. How the Mighty Med Have Fallen

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own mighty med, or anything from the original TV show. I only own this story, Dani, Barry, Alivia, any other OCs present, and anything else you don't recognize.

**Kaz's POV**

Well, this was bad. And not bad like when I got caught lying to my mom about failing a test, but bad like one of our best friends was trying to kill us. Skylar, now under the control of the Annihilator, approached us, fists clenched and expression cold. "Time to finish these Normos off once and for all." The Annihilator announced.

Skylar stepped forward and raised her right hand, hot pink sparks flowing around it dangerously. I gulped and backed up slightly, even as Dani grabbed my arm. Oliver looked at Skylar, horrified. "Skylar, stop!" He pleaded with her. "Look, I know deep down you don't want to do this! You and I are BFFs. We watch movies together; we help each other with our homework."

"And we listen from the other room and copy your answers." I added. Oliver turned to look at us.

"Are you really that surprised?" Dani questioned, crossing her arms and giving her brother a look.

"Sorry, but now, the Annihilator and I are BEFFs." Skylar told us. "Best Evil Friends Forever."

To prove her point, both she and the Annihilator bumped fists. "Yes, and once we eliminate you three, we'll turn the rest of the superheroes evil and make the world suffer just as it made me suffer!"

"There's no way that plan will ever work!" Dani declared.

"Actually, it would be pretty easy." I commented, shrugging. "If they locate all the superheroes' secret files here, they'd have access to their hideouts, their alter egos, and all their weaknesses."

"Even better than what I had in mind." The Annihilator hummed, to my surprise. "Good plan Kaz. Thanks."

"Kaz!" Dani snapped. I winced, realizing that I'd made a mistake.

"Hey, Kaz? Could you please not help the villains out?" Oliver added, annoyed.

"I don't know what's wrong. Usually, I'm no help at all." I told them apologetically.

"Now, where are the superhero files?" The Annihilator demanded.

"We don't know!" Oliver exclaimed.

"Horace would never tell us anything like that." Dani insisted pleadingly.

"It's all my fault that Skylar's evil now." Of course, Oliver would be piling the blame on top of himself. "I should have guessed the Annihilator would taint her powers. Why didn't I test them first?"

"You shouldn't blame yourself," I sighed.

"We should be blaming you." Dani added, bitterly. "This is all your fault!"

"Dani…" I tried to defend him, but she was annoyed.

"No, Kaz! Every time he gets a crush on a girl, he does stupid shit for their attention without thinking it through." She muttered. "At least when I like a guy, I don't let that relationship affect him."

"And you let it affect me?' I challenged. She didn't answer.

"I wish I could just go back in time and do everything differently." Oliver muttered.

"Like the superhero Rewind." I commented.

"Nuh-uh." He retorted, looking at me like I was an idiot. "Rewind can only travel 5 seconds back in time."

"Uh-huh. In issue 72, Rewind discovered that if his powers were amplified with electrical force, he could travel further back to whatever time he was thinking about." I reminded him.

"Nuh-uh. It was issue 73, doofuses," Dani commented, rolling her green eyes, "and he said-"

"Quiet!" The Annihilator snapped, interrupting her. He looked at Skylar. "Are they always like this?"

"Are you kidding?" She scoffed. "This is nothing."

"Well, shut them up…permanently!" The Annihilator ordered. Skylar nodded silently and created a ball of that scary hot pink energy between her hands, ready to throw it.

"Watch out!" Horace warned, suddenly sitting up. He raised his hands at Skylar, but instead of freezing her, like we assume he was attempting to do, her movements slowed to 1/10th of their usual speed. "My powers are weakened. It didn't freeze her; it only slowed her down."

"Good enough for us!" I commented, chuckling nervously. Horace raised his hands to do the same to the Annihilator, but the villain caught the powers in his hands like it was a ball, and shoved them inside one of the capsules for his cannon.

"Oh, right. He can do that." Horace realized as the Annihilator lunged at him. "Kids, get help!" He didn't have to say that twice; Oliver, Dani, and I were already fleeing the room, hoping that even if the Annihilator came after us, we'd be able to lose him in the maze of hallways around the hospital. We tore through the hallways, not daring to stop and look back in fear of the Annihilator or Skylar finding us. We didn't even slow down until we nearly passed Alan in the hallway, the boy moving on his knees as fast as he could in the same direction as us.

"Alan?" Dani skidded to a stop next to me. "What are you doing?"

"I'm running as fast as I can!" He replied breathlessly, pumping his arms. "Why did I have to morph into a snail?"

"Alan, you're not a snail anymore!" Oliver pointed out. Alan glanced down at himself, surprised, then pushed himself to his feet. "That would explain that trail of slime, though." Oliver added, looking at a wet spot about a foot behind Alan.

"Yeah, slime. That's what that is." Alan agreed nervously, obviously lying, but none of us were going to call him out on it.

"Alan, look, we need to find the escape pod." Dani told him. I looked at her, surprised. I'd totally forgotten that Mighty Med had an escape pod in case of emergency.

"Great idea! It's right over here!" Alan led us over to a wall with a key pad on it. He pressed a few of the buttons, and the walls slid upwards, revealing the escape pod behind it. But when we saw the size of it, our hopes fled.

"It only holds one person." Dani realized.

"How do we decide who goes?" Oliver questioned.

"Rock, paper, scissors?" I suggested. The idea almost seemed fair, except Dani had this inexplicable way of winning the game nine times out of ten.

"Or rock, paper, suckers." Alan alternatively suggested.

"How do you play that?" I'd never even heard of it.

"Like this." He raised his hand and telekinetically lifted a trash can off the ground and flung it towards us. While we all avoided the blow, he slipped into the escape pod. "I win, suckers!" He shouted, his voice slightly muffled by the glass.

"C'mon." Dani pulled on my arm. "If we can't escape, we should go hide." She murmured. Oliver nodded.

"She's right." He agreed. We ran down the hall, heading for the rec room. Maybe it wasn't the best place to hide, but it had to have some tech lying around that could help us out.

"This is insane." Oliver breathed once we were inside. "Ten minutes ago Skylar was kissing me on the cheek and now she's trying to kill us!"

"That's women for you, bro." Dani joked, patting him on the shoulder.

"There has to be something I can do to make her not evil." Oliver continued, ignoring her. "I-I-I just need to think."

"We don't have time." I reminded him. "And besides, thinking is for nerds."

"Wait." Dani smiled at us suddenly, obviously having come up with a plan. "Liv once told me that there's a remote in here that contacts the league of heroes. If we can find it…"

"We can call for help. Good thinking, Dee." Oliver nodded gratefully at her before beginning to search the room. He began to check behind things, while Dani opened up the cupboards, reaching in with her hand to feel for the remote. I, meanwhile, did the obvious thing and flipped over the seat cushions. Whenever a remote went missing in my house, it was always hidden in the cushions. But instead of a remote, I found something even more awesome.

"Yes!" I grinned.

"You found the remote?" Oliver asked hopefully.

"No, a potato chip." I replied happily. I broke it in three, and offered the two extra pieces to them. "Split it?"

"Disgusting." Oliver wrinkled his nose. Dani hesitated.

"What flavor is it?" She questioned. I sniffed it.

"Sour cream and onion." I replied.

"Gimme." They both replied, grabbing their pieces of the chip before resuming their search.

"I found it!" Oliver called after a while, just seconds before I was going to call him. He waved the remote above his head.

"Uh, Ollie? I found three more." Dani commented, pulling three remote controls out of the cupboard.

"And I found nine." I added, dumping my pile of remotes onto the table. They both placed their remotes on top of the pile.

"Which one is it?" Oliver questioned. Dani shrugged.

"Let's try one and see what happens. What's the worse that can happen?" She commented, reaching for one and pressing a button. Suddenly, an alarm started going off.

"The hospital will self-destruct in three…two…" An automated voice announced.

"Turn it off!" I shouted above the alarm as Dani fumbled for the button. She hit it just in time, deactivating the alarm.

"Self-destruct aborted." The automated voice announced. Dani looked at us, eyes wide.

"Why do we even have one of these?" She demanded.

"And why would it only allow three seconds?" Oliver added, equally annoyed, as his sister placed the remote away from the others.

"Let's try this one." I suggested, grabbing a grey remote. I pressed a button on it, and suddenly, the number of remotes we had doubled. We all stared at the pile.

"You have got to be kidding me." Dani muttered.

"Relax. I'll push it again." I told her. "Maybe they'll all disappear."

Instead of disappearing, our pile once again doubled in size. "You probably should have seen that coming." Oliver commented. I nodded in agreement, tossing the remote to the side. This was going to be harder than we thought.

**Skylar's POV**

I watched impatiently as the Annihilator interrogated Horace, wishing he'd just tell us where the superhero files were. Unfortunately, the man wasn't giving anything up, and neither Alivia nor Jaime were any help to us. They were awake now, handcuffed, preventing any kind of movement or escape. They both glared at me furiously, but even more so at the Annihilator. It was like they blamed him for all of this, as if I wasn't enjoying it. And I really was enjoying being evil. I didn't have to worry about doing the right thing, and I didn't have to care about anyone but me. I could do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. It was a liberating feeling, honestly, and I was never going to give it up.

"For the last time, where are all the superhero files?" The Annihilator demanded.

"I transferred them all to a quantum chip, which I've hidden, so you-" Horace paused, a concerned look forming on his face as he reached up to tousle his hair.

"What are you doing?" The Annihilator demanded.

"Sorry, I can see my reflection in your helmet." Horace explained as he attempted to fix his hair. "My hair is cuckoo!"

"Stay on topic, Horace!" Alivia called, annoyed.

"I'll never tell you the location of the quantum chip." Horace told us, a steely look in his eyes. "I don't care what you do to me."

"Fine." The Annihilator shrugged. "Then I'll just torture your beloved nephew instead."

"Zachary?" Horace demanded, shocked and horrified. "Why? What has Zachary Diaz ever done to you?"

"Alan! He meant Alan!" I snapped, irritated.

"Oh." Horace shrugged. "Well, these things happen. I supposed a little suffering will build Alan's character. I'll go find him."

He tried to flee, but the Annihilator stopped him. "You're not going anywhere." He reached his hand out, summoning his power cannon to his side. He loaded one of his power capsules into it, looking at Horace.

"I'm going to immobilize you with your power, and when we find Alan, I'll bring him here and torture him in front of you." He declared. He didn't give Horace a chance to make a run for it, instead blasting him with his own power right away. Horace froze, immobilized, and the Annihilator turned to me.

"Find Alan Diaz, and those pesky Normos." He ordered, storming off through one of the halls. I shrugged, not really caring, but headed in the opposite direction.

**Kaz's POV**

Twenty minutes and forty-seven remotes later, and we had still accomplished absolutely nothing. "Only two left." I sighed as Dani tossed her brother a remote. Oliver pressed a button, but nothing happened.

"This one also does nothing!" He sighed in frustration when nothing happened.

"Well, then this must be the one." Dani pressed a button on the last remote. Thankfully, a holographic image of a woman's head appeared in the training simulator.

" _This is the League of Heroes."_  She declared, much to our relief.

"Hi! Hi, we're calling from Mighty Med!" I told her, a little panic slipping into my voice. "We're under attack from the Annihilator and the fate of the world-"

" _Please listen carefully, as our menu options have changed._ " The head interrupted me. I groaned; of course we would get an automated responder instead of an actual person. " _For English, press one. For Gorgolblarn, press-"_  She then made a bunch of incoherent sounds. She was about to announced the third option, but a blast of pink energy destroyed her head, ending the call. We spun around to see Skylar standing in the doorway, fists glowing with energy.

"Don't bother calling for help. I eliminated the guards and put an energy barrier around the building, so no one is getting in or out." She told us, that cold stare of hers stabbing me in the heart. "Now, all I have to do is destroy the only people left standing in my way."

"Aren't you going to tell us who?" I asked, hoping to buy us time.

"She means us!" Oliver snapped.

"Wait, don't destroy us!" Dani exclaimed, hands up.

"Yeah!" I agreed, trying to think of a reason for Skylar to keep us alive. "We have a ton of valuable information about superheroes, and you could slowly torture us over a long period of time to get us to talk!"

Skylar looked at me, surprised. "Good plan Kaz; that was even better than what I had in mind. Thanks!"

"What is wrong with you?" Oliver demanded.

"I was trying to buy us some time!" I explained. "But you have to admit, I am on fire with ideas today."

Before any of us could react, Skylar reached forward, placing her index finger on each of our foreheads, starting with Oliver, then Dani, and finally me. I'm not entirely sure what she did to us, but I saw Dani fall just before my own world went black.

**Xxx**

"Kaz, wake up!" I opened my eyes at the sound of Oliver's voice, confused as to what I was doing on the ground. I blinked, looking around to see dark grey walls, a poster of Solar Flare, and, just past our window, rows and rows of cells. Oliver was standing above me, hands on his hips, while Dani was sitting up on a slab-like bed to my left. She rubbed her eyes tiredly, her hair a mess.

"Morning, sleepy." I teased her, getting up. She dropped her hands, looked at me pointedly, then looked around.

"Where are we?" She asked, biting back a yawn.

"Mighty Max Prison." Oliver announced, tapping the invisible force field that kept us locked inside. It glowed gold at his touch, but didn't allow his hand through.

"It's better than school." I commented, trying to lift their spirits. Oliver gave me an annoyed look.

"This is not good, okay?" He retorted, pacing a bit. "There is no bathroom and I had a bran muffin this morning. Things are about to get real up in here?"

"Relax." I told him. "You're forgetting about Alan. He used the escape pod. He's probably out contacting a bunch of superheroes who can figure out a way to break in and save us."

"Or he immediately got captured by Skylar." Dani added dully, nodding just outside the cell. I turned to see Skylar standing outside, pulling Alan along by the back of his sweater vest. She threw him inside without breaking a sweat.

"Yeah, that's probably more likely." I agreed.

"Alan, what happened with the escape pod?" Oliver demanded, surprised to see him.

"Well, I got in, sat down, and then I fell asleep." The black-haired boy admitted sheepishly. When he saw the looks on our faces, he rushed to defend himself. "Those seats are SO comfortable. I mean, talk about escape; escape for your worries!"

"Then what happened?" Dani questioned.

"And then Skylar woke me up and attacked me." He finished, giving Skylar an annoyed look.

"What a scaredy-cat." She accused. She glanced at us. "I'm not name calling; he got scared and shape-shifted into a cat."

She walked away, head held high, as Alan looked around our tiny cell. "This isn't good." He told us, worried. "I just had a bowl of cream, and there's no little box. Things are about to get real up in here."

**Skylar's POV**

"I found Alan. What do you want me to do with him?" I questioned, on the phone with the Annihilator. "I don't think torturing him is going to do all that much, though."

" _Why not?"_  The Annihilator demanded.

"There's got to be easier ways to get Horace to talk. Alan's our best bet, but why play our best card first?" I reasoned. "Why not keep him for when we really need something from Horace."

" _Then how do you expect me to get the information out of him? We both knowing torturing Diaz himself won't do anything."_  The Annihilator questioned.

"You got Spark and Geminus still tied up, right? Horace has a soft spot for kids; you figure it out." I told him. He sighed.

" _Fine, but lock Alan up. We might need him at a later time."_  I smiled.

"He's in Mighty Max with Kaz, Oliver, and Dani. He's not going anywhere." I replied.

"Good." With that, the Annihilator hung up the phone. I raised my hand and created a space portal to Mighty Med, not wanting to miss the show. I stepped out of my portal and into the ER just as the Annihilator stormed in from the other room.

"Since Alan isn't here, I'll just have to torture these two instead." He announced, walking towards Alivia and Jaime. They both stared up at him, fear barely hidden in their eyes.

"Try it, and you're dead." Jaime threatened hatefully, her eyes glint yellow as her powers swirling within her. Not that she could even use them though – we'd been careful to use anti-power handcuffs on both girls. Now, they were as pathetic and weak as any Normo teenage girl.

"Feel free to speak up at any time." The Annihilator released Horace from his earlier blow, allowing the doctor to move freely once more. "Where's the quantum chip?"

"I'll never tell you." Horace retorted. The Annihilator reached forward and grabbed Jaime by the front of her shirt, roughly hauling her to her feet. "Wait!" Horace stopped him. "Is that someone over your shoulder you should turn around and look at?"

To my genuine surprise, the Annihilator fell for the trick, looking over his shoulder to check if someone had entered the room. I moved closer to Alivia – I figured Horace had pulled that stunt to try and get Jaime away from the Annihilator, so grabbing the red-head would make things even. But instead, Horace swiped a white device off the floor, grinning. "Aha!" He laughed as the Annihilator turned back around. "It was a trick! A ruse! A gambit! A ploy!" We all looked at him. "Sorry, I'm halfway through this thesaurus I'm reading, studying, analyzing, perusing."

The Annihilator wasn't amused, nor was he bothered by the device in Horace's hand. "If you fire that weapon at me, I'll just absorb the power." He reminded the doctor. Horace's smile widened.

"Oh, it's not a weapon." He replied smugly. "It's a linguistics scrambler, and I won't be firing it at you!"

He turned the device around in his hands, and, before I could stop him, fired it at himself. He dropped it to the ground, a smug smirk on his face.

"What did you do?" The Annihilator demanded, throwing Jaime to the ground. She landed on her butt, hard, glaring up at him. Horace smiled and opened his mouth to reply, but what came out of his mouth was pure gibberish.

"Ha!" Alivia laughed gleefully, looking at us as if they'd just won. "Good luck getting anything out of him now!"

"Shut up!" I snapped, letting my powers surround my fist with energy. She didn't reply, but continued to smile.

**Kaz's POV**

Alan and I stood in front of the force field, preparing ourselves. "Now, remember what I told you."

"It's not going to work, Kaz." I heard Dani sigh from her place on the slab.

"Shush, oh ye of little faith." I called back over my shoulder, determined. I looked back at Alan. "We can do this. Just concentrate. You ready?"

He nodded and at the same time, we began to tap our fingers against the force field, a rhythm of piano-like sounds playing out the tune of Chopsticks.

"Would you stop?" Oliver demanded after a moment. "That sounds terrible. It's completely out of tune."

We both stopped, a little disappointed. "More importantly," Oliver continued, "We have to stop the Annihilator from getting the superhero information."

"Yeah? How?" Dani challenged. She lifted her hands to gesture at the whole cell. "We're trapped. Not to mention, Skylar placed an energy barrier around the entire hospital, making it impossible for any superheroes to get in."

"There's got to be a way to break the barrier." I reasoned, sitting down next to her. She looked at me.

"The only thing that can do that is the Crystal of Kreln, which was lost in the battle of Kreln, during the Kreln rebellion in Kreln during the year 2165 BK, before Kreln." She argued.

"The crystal of…what's it called again?" Alan questioned. For a moment, Dani looked like she wanted to rip his head off, so I quickly intervened.

"Kreln." I supplied, putting my hand on hers to prevent her from attacking. She looked at me, and I could see the frustration in her eyes. Usually she was the optimistic one, but I guess that she was just out of ideas right now. "Dude, Dani just said it like five times!"

"Right. I've seen it." Alan told us. We all looked at him. "It's in the Domain."

"No, Alan, that's just a toy." I told him.

"Oh." He sighed, disheartened. But Oliver looked at him thoughtfully.

"What if it's not a toy?" He asked suddenly, looking at all of us. "I mean, Wallace and Clyde DID have half of the real Dyad of Nebulan. Maybe they have the real crystal of Kreln."

"They did say that they have a lot of real devices in the store." Alan offered. "But I just thought they were trying to overcharge me."

"It better be real." I commented. "Because it's the only chance we have."

"Right." Oliver nodded. "Now we have to contact a superhero who can get the crystal and then storm Mighty Med."

We all pulled out our phones, going through the contacts. Unfortunately for me, Experion must have wiped my phone completely when he'd stolen it, because I didn't even have my mom's number in mine.

"I just have Geminus, Spark, and Spotlight. Gem and Spark are the Annihilator's prisoners, and as good a superhero as he is, Spotlight can't handle this kind of thing." Dani said. I looked at her, confused.

"Why do you have Spotlight's number?" I questioned. She shrugged.

"He asked me out." She replied. I raised my eyebrows at that. She'd never told me that. "What? I didn't say yes, or anything. Besides, what do you care?"

"I-I don't." I lied before looking at Oliver. "Who do you have?" I asked quickly, changing the subject.

"I have Gem, Spark, Skylar…and Titanio!" He grinned. "I can call his alter ego, Henry Tidwell."

He began to dial the number, then paused, his smile falling. "I don't have reception."

"Neither do I." Dani stood up on the slab, holding her phone as high as she could, a scowl on her face. "We're too far below ground. We're never going to get out of here."

Oliver sighed and went to lean against the Solar Flare poster, disappointed. But the moment he put his weight on the poster, he fell through, tumbling into a large tunnel. "Whoa!"

He climbed out of it, surprised. 'Someone must have tunneled out of here."

"Thank you, random supervillain." I grinned. I looked at Dani. "You ready to get out of here?"

**Skylar's POV**

It had almost been an hour since Horace had used the linguistics scrambler on himself, and we still couldn't understand a thing he was saying. Though, if I had to guess, many of his incoherent shouts translated vaguely to 'I love bridges!'.

"This is taking forever." I complained, impatient. There was no point in even torturing Alivia or Jaime if Horace couldn't physically answer us.

Horace continued to babble at us, but after a moment, I realized his babbling had turned into actual words. "…never understand a single word I say until the effect wears…Never mind."

"Finally." The Annihilator sighed. He grabbed Alivia by the arm, pulling her to her feet. "Now, where were we?"

"Fine, I'll do it!" Horace exclaimed before the Annihilator could really hurt her. "I'll take you to the quantum chip!"

"What? No! Horace, don't!" Alivia protested, even as the Annihilator threw her back down to the ground next to Jaime.

"I can't, in good conscious, let him torture you, Geminus. Your father would have my head." Horace told her, before walking slowly to one of the many pictures of bridges he had hanging up on the wall. He removed it, revealing a safe behind it. He went to open it, then looked back at us. "No looking!" He scolded.

The Annihilator looked away, but I only pretended to, watching him input the code. 2-7-4-3-4-3-7. I shook my head, almost amused. I should have guessed. He opened the safe, but instead of a chip inside, there was a pill. Before I could stop him, he popped the pill into his mouth and swallowed it, still not facing us.

"What was in that pill?" The Annihilator demanded, seeing the same thing as me. "Tell us!"

Horace slowly turned around to reveal that his mouth was gone, as if it had simply been erased. I groaned in frustration. This was going to take us all freaking day.

**Kaz's POV**

"He's not coming." Dani sighed, her voice coming from just behind me. The tunnel was tiny and dark, making it impossible to see, but even I could tell that Oliver was still refusing to enter the tunnel.

"Oliver, get in the tunnel!" I shouted, frustrated.

"No way!" He retorted.

"Why won't he come?" Alan asked, confused.

"He's got claustrophobia." Dani explained.

"It started with our 7 months in the womb." Oliver added, still standing in the cell.

"Seven months?" Alan echoed.

"We really wanted to get out of there." Dani explained.

"Oliver!" I hollered loudly. "Get in here and stop talking about your mother's womb! It's weird how often I have to say that."

Dani sighed loudly. "Ollie, just close your eyes. It won't be so bad."

"Fine." I heard him sigh. "We'll probably all be killed anyway."

"Drama queen." Dani muttered as her brother climbed in the tunnel behind her.

"Stop being such a Chicken Little." Alan scolded, before beginning to mock him. "Oh, the sky is falling! The sky is falling! AH!"

Suddenly, the tunnel opened up under us and we fell out, one at a time. We landed hard on the bottom of another cell, the air rushing out of my lungs when Dani landed right on top of me. "You're heavy." I groaned.

"Rude." She muttered, getting to her feet, and offering me her hand. I accepted it and climbed to my feet. I went to look around, then leapt back when I realized who else was in the cell.

"Oh, crap." I muttered.

"Hey, Megahertz. How's it going?" Dani laughed nervously, stepping behind me. We all looked at him, terrified. Of all the cells we had to land in, this one had to be the worst.

"Hey, it's not actually that bad." Oliver, who had yet to reach the hole, commented. "Good idea about closing my-AH!"

Oliver fell through right next to us, just after we'd all moved out of the way. He stumbled back to his feet and turned around, only to see Megahertz standing there with that deadly look on his face. "Oh no." My best friend groaned.

"Ollie, I believe you've met Megahertz." Dani laughed breathlessly.

"Megahertz, buddy…" She wasn't the only nervous one. Oliver began to babble, trying to buy us some time to think of a plan. "I love what you've done with your cell." He tried to back away some more, but hit the force field. "Ah, and your force field is perfectly in tune."

"This isn't my cell." Megahertz growled. "This is the Chamber of Certain Destruction."

"Catchy name." Dani commented, hints of sarcasm in her tone. I looked around, hoping to see a door or something (not that I really expected to see one), but instead found a couple of action figures. When I picked them up to take a closer look, I realized that they were action figures of Blood Chef and Black Falcon, two of the supervillain world's greatest villain.

"But, hey, at least they let you bring some toys to entertain yourself." I offered, trying to lift Megahertz's feelings so he wouldn't kill us or anything.

"Those aren't toys!" The villain snapped. "The punishment for repeat offenders is to be turned into an action figure and sold as a limited edition collectible."

I looked down at the action figures in my hands. "So, that's the real Blood Chef and Black Falcon?" Oliver questioned.

"Yup." Megahertz agreed.

"Cool!" I grinned, turning to Dani and Alan. "Check it out. They're kissing." I brought the action figures' heads together, making kissing noises with my mouth. Alan laughed, but Dani just shook her head. Huh, I thought she'd find that funny. Oh well.

Suddenly, a loud alarm went off, the lights inside the cell changed from white to red, and a distinct burning smell filled the room. "Ooh, is somebody making microwave popcorn?" Alan inquired, sniffing the air.

"Yeah," Dani nodded. "And we're the popcorn."

"Don't worry, it'll be over quickly." Megahertz reassured us. "If you consider four minutes of complete agony quickly."

"We need to get out of here. Now." Dani stated the obvious, looking around the room.

"I can't believe we're going to be melted into action figures." Oliver muttered. I looked at him.

"Man, I hope the kid that buys us doesn't make us kiss." I commented. He nodded in agreement, a slightly disgusted look on his face. Dani, meanwhile, was desperately trying to think of a way out of this.

"Can't you use your electricity to blast out of the force field?" She demanded, turning to Megahertz. To her great disappointment, he shook his head.

The chamber neutralizes the powers of the prisoner they put inside." He explained. "I'm as weak as you are, if you ignore my incredible muscles."

"Dani, that was never going to work, anyway. All the cells in Mighty Max block the powers of their prisoners." Oliver sighed. She turned to glare at him.

"Hey! You're supposed to be the smart one, and I don't see you coming up with any ideas!" She snapped irritably. Suddenly, we heard the crackling of a PA system.

" _Commence meltdown process."_  It announced. Alan shrieked in terror and his hands and feet suddenly turned into hooves, a horse's tail sprouting from his behind. He looked at them in horror.

"I hate this power!" He cried in frustration.

"Wait, no!" Oliver grinned suddenly. "Of course! The cell is only set to neutralize Megahertz's powers. That's why Alan's still work."

"So?" I looked at him, wondering where he was going with this.

"Alan, if you can transform into a mouse, you can fit through the food slow and get us out of here." He told the black-haired boy. Alan hesitated, then shook his head.

"But I haven't mastered my power yet! I never know what animal I'm going to turn into." He reminded us, disheartened, as his tail flicked upwards and hit me in the face.

"Watch it!" I snapped, pushing him away from me.

" _Thirty seconds until meltdown."_  The automated voice announced.

"Alan, you can do it." Oliver encouraged him. "You just have to concentrate. Think small, like…"

"Like the African pygmy mouse, the world's smallest rodent. So small that it hydrates itself by licking the dew off of tiny pebbles." We all looked at her. "Yeah, that's right. I know things."

"You watch way too much Animal Planet." Oliver muttered. Dani smirked.

"Don't care!" She exclaimed before looking at Alan. "But seriously, you can do this."

Alan nodded, took a deep breath, and began to concentrate. But his concentrating attempt was taking too long for Megahertz. "Oh, come on already!" He shouted, slamming his fist into the side of the cell. The sound startled Alan, and he began to morph. Before I knew what was happening, something hard and blue hit me from behind and threw me out of the cell. I landed on the ground next to Dani, Oliver, and Megahertz. I turned around to ask what had just happened and froze, my eyes widening when I saw Alan.

Instead of turning into a tiny mouse like Oliver and Dani had suggested, Alan had gone in a totally different direction, transforming into a massive, blue whale.

"Incredible." Dani smiled, eyes lit up in amazement. "He turned into a blue whale. You know, its tail is actually as wide as a soccer net, and-"

"Oh, shut your blow hole, Dani!" Megahertz snapped. Alan chose that moment to spray water at the villain. "You too, Moby Dick!"

"Thanks Alan." Dani patted the whale's side, smiling gratefully at the shapeshifter.

**Skylar's POV**

"Now what?" The Annihilator questioned impatiently. "Without a mouth, he can't tell us where to find the quantum chip."

"Also, he looks really, really weird." I added. Even though they were clearly angry with me, both Jaime and Alivia nodded in agreement, while Horace looked offended. "I suppose we could force him to write down where the quantum chip is."

"Good idea." The Annihilator agreed. He went to check the ER counters for a writing device, but couldn't find any. "You can never a find a pen when you need one."

"Kaz has a habit of stealing pens." I commented, smiling a bit when I saw Horace's face begin to change again, his mouth slowly but surely, reforming. "Besides, I wouldn't worry too much about it."

"Wait a minute." Horace frowned as his mouth completely reappeared, his tongue working its way through the inside of it. "This isn't my mouth. I could never roll my tongue like this before." He rolled his tongue at us to distract us, then threw himself out of the chair, running for a medical cart nearby. Before I could grab him – damn, this guy was fast when he wanted to be – he injected himself with a serum.

"Ha!" He teased us. "I just injected myself with a lying serum. No matter what you ask me, I won't be able to tell you the truth."

I frowned, wondering why he was telling us this since he wasn't supposed to do anything but lie, but when I read what it said on the vial of liquid he injected himself with, I couldn't help but laugh.

"What's so funny?" Jaime demanded, glaring at me. I held up the serum for Horace to see.

"You injected yourself with an anti-lying serum." I told him. The tiny word 'Anti' was dwarfed in comparison to the word 'lying', but it was still there.

"Why did they write 'anti' so tiny?" He demanded. "I mean, that's a pretty important detail."

"Commendable effort though, really." Alivia commented. I smirked at the Annihilator.

"Now he can only tell us the truth." I told my new partner.

"This is bad." Horace worried aloud. "Also, I'm wearing a diaper. I'm potty-trained, but I just like them."

**Kaz's POV**

"Hey, Megahertz, now that your electricity powers are working, do you think you can use them to boost the signal on my cell phone?" Oliver requested when Alan finally transformed back into a human. Megahertz sneered at him.

"What do I look like, a cellular provider?" He retorted. "I'm nowhere near that evil. Besides, why should I help you?"

"Yeah, Oliver." I couldn't understand why he actually thought Megahertz would help. "Because of us, he's been in prisoner twice. I mean, to be honest, I'm surprised he's not trying to electrocute us right now."

"That's even better than what I had in mind." Megahertz hummed pleasantly. "Good idea, Kaz. Thanks."

"Dude!" Dani gave me a look.

"I have an idea, Kaz." Oliver offered, giving me an equally annoyed look. "No more ideas."

"Megahertz, look. You have to help us." Dani turned to the villain. "We just saved your life; that's got to count for something."

Megahertz sighed, but instead of electrocuting us, he touched his index finger to my phone, not just boosting the signal, but charging it completely.

"You tell anyone about this, I'll hunt you down and destroy you!" He threatened. He thought about it for a moment before correcting himself. "Actually, I'll probably do that anyway. But if you tell anyone, I'll make sure it really, really hurts.

"Got it. It never happened." Oliver agreed before dialing a number. "Titanio? It's Oliver, from Mighty Med."

He walked away a bit to take the phone call, while we all stood around, waiting awkwardly.

"God, I hope Liv and Jaime are alright." Dani muttered, her bangs falling in front of her eyes. "I haven't seen or heard anything from them since Skylar knocked them out earlier. What if she or the Annihilator…"

"Hey," I gave her a smile and brushed her hair behind her ear so I could actually see her eyes. "It's Spark and Geminus we're talking about. Do you know any tougher girls?" She shook her head. "Exactly. Hell, we might get back to Mighty Med and find that they've already defeated the Annihilator and Skylar without us."

"Yeah, maybe." She didn't sound very optimistic about it, but at least she didn't look as worried as she did before. Oliver walked back over to us, pocketing his cellphone.

"Titanio's going to get the crystal of Kreln from the Domain." He announced.

"Good, now we have to get back to Mighty Med." Dani cleared her throat, setting a look of determination on her face. Oliver nodded.

"Time's running out, and if we don't get those superhero files before Skylar and the Annihilator do, it'll spell disaster." He agreed. Alan looked at him as if he had three heads.

"No one can spell disaster! D-E-Z? D-I-Z? It's impossible!" He protested. "But I do know where the superhero files are. My Uncle Horace transferred them to a quantum chip and I know where he hid it."

"Alright, let's go." I decided. Oliver stopped me, an awkward look on his face.

"Actually Kaz, and I was thinking that Alan, Dani, and I should go get the chip, and you should stay here." He told me.

"Why?" I questioned, confused.

"To, um, hold down the fort." Oliver had never been a good liar, and this lie was even worse than usual. "Because you, my friend, are the best fort-holder-downer I know."

"Ollie!" Dani scolded softly.

"It sounds to me like he's trying to ditch you." Alan told me, trying to be helpful. "And I should know; I've been ditched many, many times."

"You're ditching me?" I looked at my best friend, hurt. Why would he just ditch me like this?

"No, no, no. I'm not ditching you, I'm…" He struggled to find the right word.

"Ditching him." Dani finished for him, crossing her arms. Oliver sighed.

"Kaz, it's just…sometimes, when you've over there, it's like 'yeah', and when you're over here, it's like 'uh-oh'." He explained apologetically.

"Fine. Go." I didn't need him. "If you don't want me to come, I won't, but let's see how well you do without me by your side."

"Kaz…" Oliver looked over his shoulder at the exit. "I'm sorry, but we have to go."

Alan and Oliver walked out, while Dani made it halfway to the door before she stopped. "Kaz, just come along. Who cares what Ollie thinks."

"No, I don't want to." I shook my head. She gave me an exasperated look. "Dani, go!" I exclaimed, gesturing at the door.

"Yeah? Why should I? You aren't." She reminded me.

"Because if you don't, the only person watching Oliver's back will be Alan." I pointed out. She hesitated. "It's okay, Dee. I won't be upset with you."

"I'll see you later, then." She sighed before running out to catch up with Alan and her brother. I sighed, watching the door click shut behind her.

**Skylar's POV**

After a while, we decided to move our interrogation to the rec room, to make things a little more comfortable for us. Not to mention, we could lock Alivia and Jaime in the training simulator and turn on the noise cancelling wall so we could finally get some peace. They'd been asking Horace random questions for the past hour, trying to distract him from the truth and to annoy us. Now, the two girls paced around the inside of the training simulator, sending us glared every few seconds, while Horace sat in the chair, tied down and refusing to speak to us.

"It's in here!" All of us looked up at the sound of Alan's voice. How had he escaped Mighty Max? He burst into the rec room, both Dani and Oliver hot on his heels. To my surprise, Kaz was nowhere to be seen.

"And so are they." Oliver realized, staring at us.

"Uncle Horace!" Alan exclaimed, noticing his uncle.

"Is that my nephew, Zachary?" Horace asked hopefully, unable to see them since they were standing a few feet behind him.

"No, it's me, Alan." Alan informed him. His face fell.

"Oh." He replied, obviously disappointed. "Hey Alan."

I turned to the twins, annoyed. "You stole the quantum chip, didn't you?" I demanded. Horace hadn't been able to find it earlier, and since we knew he was telling the truth about where it was, they had to be the culprits behind its disappearance.

"No." Dani shook her head. "Not that we'd tell you if we did."

"I know we said we'd never keep secrets from each other, but under the circumstances, I think you get where I'm coming from." Oliver added, taking his sister's side. Huh, I had figured that his crush on me would draw him over to our side by now. I guess I overestimated his feelings for me.

"Where is the quantum chip?" The Annihilator demanded, glaring at Horace.

"I swear; I hid it in this room." He replied instantly. 'Also, I don't wear pajamas to bed. I wear a tuxedo."

Dani sighed. "Anti-lying serum?"

"Yes." Horace admitted regretfully. She nodded, looking just 100% done with this situation. "Which is why I'm announcing that that black remote over there has a locate button that attracts the quantum chip like a magnet. Also, I have a third nipple. Luckily, it's right in top of my second nipple, so no one will ever know."

"Gross." Oliver wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"Thank you, Horace." I smiled at him, then swiped the remote off the ground. I found the locate button and pressed it, waiting for the quantum chip to fly out from where ever it was hiding. To my surprise, Oliver and Dani sped at me, not even moving their feet. Oliver got stuck to my side, while Dani found herself stuck back to back with him. "What are you doing?"

"I'm attracted to you." Oliver replied as I tried to push him away, but he just kept coming back. "No, I mean, I'm really attracted to you."

"We get it! You have a crush on her!" Dani snapped, trying to remove herself from her brother's back. "But I'm not attracted to either of you, so what the hell?"

Before any of us could reply, Kaz came speeding in the door, his legs pressed together. He didn't stop until he was stuck to Dani, their two faces practically touching. They looked at each other for a moment, confused, then he smirked charmingly. "Hey girl."

Dani laughed, a surprised, yet amused sound, while Oliver just looked plain confused. "Kaz, I thought I told you to stay in Mighty Max!"

"Yeah, I decided to come here instead because this is how I go places on purpose!" Kaz snapped sarcastically. Dani groaned, tilting her head back in frustration.

"Why am I the one who's always getting caught in the middle of you two?" She muttered. Horace looked at them, a look of realization crossing his face.

"They must have eaten the quantum chip to keep you from getting it." He realized. All three of them craned their necks to look at him.

"We ate a potato chip." Kaz stated.

"I'm guessing you found it in the chair cushion?" Horace assumed. None of them answered, but by the looks on their faces, it was obvious that he was right. "I disguised it to look like a potato chip and put it in there to keep it hidden. I wanted to disguise it as something unimportant."

"But why would you make it taste like sour cream and onion?" Oliver questioned incredulously.

"As opposed to what? Honey mustard?" Horace asked rhetorically. "Only a madman would make a quantum chip taste like honey mustard."

"Only a madman would disguise it as something edible." Dani muttered.

"Well, we broke it into three pieces, so it's useless now." Oliver pointed out. For a moment, I was furious. Great, now what were we going to do? But Horace quickly reassured me, despite himself.

"Not true. Quantum chips are easily put back together." He offered.

"Well, we ate it." Dani pointed out. Kaz nodded.

"There's no way you can get it back." He agreed. I smiled.

"Unless we rip open your stomachs and pull it out before you can digest it." I suggested. Dani, Kaz, and Oliver's eyes all nearly popped out of their heads at the suggestion.

"Hey, uh, Ollie? From now on, can you have a crush on less crazy girls?" She questioned.

**Kaz's POV**

Skylar and the Annihilator wasted no time in preparing to rip us open. The strapped up down to metal stretchers in the training simulator, while Alan, Alivia, Jaime, and Horace were all restrained using rope and power dampener handcuffs.

"I guess this is it." I sighed, leaning my head back against the stretcher. We'd all given up trying to escape – the straps were too tight, and even if we could get out of them, the Annihilator and Skylar were right there. "Before we go, there's one thing I want to say." I looked past Dani and at Oliver. "This is all your fault!"

"My fault? Are you kidding me?" He scoffed. "You've been helping the villains all day! How can you possibly thing this is my fault?"

"We wouldn't be in this situation if we hadn't discovered Mighty Med, which we never would have done if you hadn't make me read comic books." I accused.

"Oh really? At my fifth birthday party, I wished for a pony." I reminded him. "But you blew out my candles."

Both the twins gave me a strange look. "Dude, that was Dani." "I blew out your candles."

"What? No. It was Oliver." Actually, it probably was Dani, but I was annoyed at Oliver right now, not her.

"No, it was me." Dani nodded. "Remember? I blew them out, you got mad, then I smashed my cake in Ollie's face to get you to laugh."

"I can't tell if they're adorable, or just plain weird." I heard Alivia mutter to Jaime.

"Well…Oliver, you didn't stop her and you could have!" I insisted. "If you had, I wouldn't have been hanging out with you at the comic book store, I would have been out riding my pony, which would have been a horse by now!"

"How can you seriously be mad at me for not stopping my sister from doing something? You never get mad at her!" Oliver exclaimed.

"Well, she's a lot prettier than you." I reasoned. Dani blushed.

"I am?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"God, you two disgust me." Skylar muttered. I turned to glare at her.

"Look, I know you're evil now, but do you have to be mean?" I questioned, glaring.

"You know what?" Oliver interrupted her response. "These are probably our last few moments alive. Could you just be quiet and let me die in peace?"

"Not until I say one last thing." I retorted. They all looked at me, waiting for my final comment. "Oatmeal."

Oliver looked at me like I was an idiot. "What?"

"My pony's name would have been Oatmeal." I explained, annoyed. "Now I'm done."

"We have get the quantum chip out of their stomachs." The Annihilator stated, walking back into the room. He'd only been gone a few minutes to check that security was still as tight as Skylar said it was. I could that there was a little lack of trust between them. "Use your exploding powers to blow them open."

"Exploding them might destroy the chip." Skylar replied, shaking her head. She touched her hair gently. "And it will make a mess. I mean, not everyone here is wearing a helmet."

"Actually, the easiest thing would be to cut us open with the laser dissector on the table over there." I suggested, nodding at the device sitting on the table. I purposely kept my head straight, refusing to meet Dani and Oliver's gazes, knowing how angry they'd be at me for saying that. Skylar looked surprised by the suggestion, then turned to Horace for confirmation.

"Yes, that would get the job done quickly and painlessly." Horace replied, nodding thoughtfully. "Well, painlessly for you two. For the boys and Dani, it's going to be brutal."

Skylar grabbed the device off the table and pointed it at us, even as Alan began to slowly release our friends. "Any last words?" She questioned.

I looked pointedly at Oliver. "Oatmeal."

"Idiots." Dani muttered, shaking her head and closing her eyes. Skylar went to press the trigger.

"Wait." I stopped her. "You're pointing it the wrong way."

Oliver turned to glare at me. "Horace is full of anti-lying serum. What's your excuse?"

I didn't answer him, keeping my eyes on Alan. He'd almost managed to release Alivia by this point. We just needed a few more seconds…Skylar looked at me, not quite believing what I was saying. "Horace, is Kaz telling the truth?"

"Yes, and I shave my armpits." He added the last part. Skylar gave him a weirded-out look, the turned the weapon around in her hand and pulled the trigger. The blast shot out of the end aimed at her, and hit her in the stomach. To her shock, tree roots began to form around her legs and arms; within seconds, they were encased in tiny tree trunks, preventing her from moving.

"Ha!" Alivia shouted, bolting forwards, swiping the weapon off the ground, and shooting the Annihilator with it before he could even react. Jaime and Horace stood up, finally released from the restraints, just as the Annihilator was trapped like Skylar. "Take that, sucker!"

I chuckled at her quip as Jaime, Horace, and Alan began to release us. "It wasn't a laser dissector; it was a forestation ray." I explained to the very confused twins.

"Yes, and my anti-lying serum wore off four minutes ago." Horace added, smirking at Oliver. "I don't shave my armpits; I wax them."

"…Good to know?" Dani looked at him questioningly before turning to me. "Y-You tricked them?"

"Kaz, you're a genius." Oliver told me, shaking his head in utter astonishment. "Look, I'm sorry for saying you always mess things up."

"And I'm sorry for blowing your candles out for you when we were five." Dani added. "Could you ever forgive us?"

"Well…" I pretended to think about it for a while. "I guess."

"Good." Dani smiled brilliantly. She turned to her brother. "FYI, I'm not sorry about smashing the cake in your face. That was hilarious."

"Alright, now the forestation ray only lasts a few minutes." Horace told us, backing up to allow us off the stretchers. "We have to get the quantum chip out of you and hide it."

"But how?" Alan questioned as we walked out of the rec room, leaving Skylar and the Annihilator trapped. "Do you have a vomit ray?"

"No, but I have two-week-old Indian food in my office." He replied. Dani, Oliver, and I exchanged disgusted looks, but acknowledged that it was the only way.

**Skylar's POV**

Eventually, the Annihilator and I managed to pull ourselves from those damn roots, and we headed into the ER. I should have known that Kaz had been hiding something like that up his sleeve – although he was hardly the sharpest tool in the shed, he always came through for him, Oliver, and Dani when he needed to. I underestimated him once, but not again.

"Where are they?" The Annihilator demanded, noting that the ER was just as we left it – everything pushed to the sides and the room empty.

"Hey, Annihilator." We turned to see Titanio, the billionaire genius superhero with a weaponized, mechanical suit, leaning against the door frame. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size, who's also a handsome, yet frugal billionaire?"

I glared at him, trying to hide my surprise. "How did you break my force field?" I demanded.

"Crystal of Kreln." He replied, waving the yellow, translucent stone prism around in his hand. I rolled my eyes, inwardly cursing myself for not realizing that significant flaw in my plan.

"You were a fool to come here, Titanio." I told him, falling into an all-too familiar fighting stance. "It's two against one."

"Or is it?" Titanio challenged. I tensed, expecting more heroes to walked out of the shadows, but no one appeared. Titanio looked equally confused. "I think that was their cue…" He muttered to himself. His face suddenly cleared. "No, wait! It was 'I beg to differ'. Skylar, can we take this whole thing over again? You say 'you were a fool to come here. It's two against-'"

Annoyed with his ramblings, I shot a blast at his head. He ducked, avoiding it, and looked at me, startled. I guess he didn't quite believe that I'd gone to the dark side. "I beg to differ!" He shouted at the top of his lungs before pulling on his helmet.

Suddenly, Alley Cat dropped from the ceiling, Clone Master walking in besides her. From the main entrance way burst the heroes Spotlight and Blue Tornado. Alivia and Jaime came from the direction we'd just come in, all six heroes ready to fight. We were surrounded, but we wouldn't go down without a fight.

The Annihilator tried to load his weapon, but Blue Tornado came at us first, barreling into the Annihilator in a blur of blue. Then, Spotlight blinded me with his powers. I closed my eyes, hoping to get rid of the pain now stabbing into my brain, but somebody, Jaime I suspect, hit me from behind with a powerful ball of energy, knocking me onto the ground. I heard grunts coming from both the Annihilator and Clone Master, and guessing by the sound of them, they were both getting some pretty good shots in. The sounds turned to metal clangs seconds later, confirming that the Annihilator had now moved on to Titanio.

I got to my feet, eyes still stinging but finally able to see. And just in time too, since Spotlight and Alivia had teamed up together, two duplicates of the red head flanking the older teenage hero as they all charged at me. He came at me first, grabbing me from behind. I elbowed him hard in the ribs and grabbed his arm, twisting it around to force him to face the other direction. While holding me still, I managed to kick one of the Alivias in the gut before spinning around and landing a precise hit to the back of Spotlight's feet. The hero flipped mid-air, groaning when he landed hard on his stomach.

**Kaz's POV**

In the end, none of us ended up touching the Indian food. Dani had ranted the entire way to his office ("Seriously Horace, isn't it enough that they murdered those defenseless animals so you could have some food, and now you've let it go to waste for the past two weeks?"), only for the three of us to empty our stomachs at the very smell of the old food.

Using gloves and tweezers, Horace carefully pulled the pieces of the quantum chip out of…our messes. Alan watched on in disgust, while Alivia and Jaime left to go help Titanio with the Annihilator and Skylar. The hope was, by time we were finished with the chip, the heroes would have captured the two and we'd be able to start trying to figure out a way to cure Skylar of the Annihilator's influence.

"I hate throwing up." I complained, wrinkling my nose in disgust at the horrible sensation on my tongue. "I have the worst taste in my mouth."

"At least you have your own mouth." Horace muttered, opening a cupboard. "Now, we don't have much time."

"Where are you going to hide the quantum chip?" Oliver questioned.

"The safest place imaginable." Horace replied, pulling a bag of chips out of the cupboard. He opened it up, dropped the now repaired chip into the bag, and rolled it close. "Now, to lock it." He grabbed a bag clip out of the cupboard as well, clipping it onto the end of the bag to 'lock' it.

**Skylar's POV**

The fight wasn't going our way at all. Between the number of heroes Titanio had brought, and the numerous duplicates Geminus and her father, Clone Master, had created, we were being overwhelmed. They forced us into a corner, our backs almost touching the wall. At this point, we were no longer even throwing out attacks of our own, instead forced to put our complete focus into deflecting their powerful blows.

In a last effort to stay in the fight, I created a force field around myself and the Annihilator, but I knew instantly that it wasn't going to last. "I can't hold them off much longer!" I cried desperately.

"Skylar!" I looked over to see Oliver, Kaz, Dani, Alan, and Horace, all standing off to the side. Oliver looked at me pleadingly. "You're out numbered. You have to give up."

"Never!" The Annihilator answered for both of us. But I hesitated, looking at all the heroes. We were outnumbered eight to one, and with no chance of escape. They would either destroy us or capture us, and if we were captured, then they would surely turn me good again. And I couldn't let that happen. But how to fix this?

"Hey!" Suddenly, Megahertz came waltzing into the room. All the heroes stopped firing on us instantly, eyes focused on him. "How do you get out of here? Seriously, this place is like a maze!"

"Megahertz!" Clone Master shouted. Megahertz turned and froze when he saw all the heroes.

"Whoa!" He raised his hands. "I'm a good guy now. I helped Oliver, Dani, and Kaz break out of Mighty Max." He leaned in closer to me, and added in a hushed voice, "Unless you guys have a brilliant way out of this, then I'm on your side."

**FLASHBACK**

" _I wish I could just go back in time and do everything differently." Oliver muttered._

" _Like the superhero Rewind." Kaz commented._

" _Nuh-uh." Oliver retorted, looking at him like he was an idiot. "Rewind can only travel 5 seconds back in time."_

" _Uh-huh. In issue 72, Rewind discovered that if his powers were amplified with electrical force, he could travel further back to whatever time he was thinking about." Kaz reminded him._

**FLASHBACK OVER**

That was it! I had to go back in time! "Megahertz, I do have a brilliant way out of this!" I exclaimed. I opened a hole in my force field and snatched one of the power vials off of the Annihilator's belt. It was the one that read 'Rewind' on the cover. "Zap this canister!"

I threw it in the air, and Megahertz hit it with a ball of electricity. I watched as everyone in the room froze, then started to move backwards, as if I were rewinding a movie. It was fascinating really, and something that would have been a lot cooler if I hadn't had to use to use it because of an emergency. Eventually, the rewind process slowed to a stop, back to the exact moment that I had my powers returned, just before I turned evil.

"Amazing. I've never seen such a complete restoration of powers." Horace beamed at me as a guard lead the Annihilator into the room. "Skylar, I need to run some tests on you."

"Okay," I agreed, "but first, can I have a moment alone with the Annihilator? I have some choice words for him."

"Of course." Horace nodded in understanding. "Would you like to borrow my thesaurus? I recommend villain, knave, and no-good nick."

"I got this." I assured him. He, along with the others filed out of the room. I turned to the Annihilator, smiling. They were all ignorantly clueless!

"You turned back time." The Annihilator hummed. "Very clever."

"Now, they have no idea that I'm evil." I told him, proud of myself for coming up with that idea. "So we can work together in secret to turn all those superheroes into villains."

"Good plan." He told me, sounding pleased.

"We just have to let them lock you up in Mighty Max, so they don't suspect anything." I added.

"I like that part less, but okay." The Annihilator agreed reluctantly. I glanced down the hall, hearing footsteps.

"Oh, and I'm sorry about this." I apologized.

"About what?" He questioned. Once I saw Kaz, Dani, Alivia, Jaime, and Oliver turn the corner, I punched the Annihilator in the stomach. It was a hard punch – I had to make it look good, after all – but I softened it as much as I possibly could.

"And that's for trying to hurt my friends!" I shouted loudly.

"Ooh, nice one." Jaime smirked, watching as the Annihilator struggled to get up, even with the guards' help. I watched silently as they dragged him out, glad that I seemed to be able to fool everyone.

"Welcome back, Skylar Storm." Alivia smiled, offering me her hand. I took it, hugging her back like I knew she expected.

"It's good to be back." I replied instantly. Huh, pretending to be my goodie-goodie self wasn't very difficult. I figured I'd have to force it a bit more to be believable, but as usual, my 'friends' were oblivious to anything being wrong.

"Alright!" Dani clapped her hands together, smiling brightly. "You all know what we need to do, right?"

"What?" Oliver looked at her, confused. She patted his shoulder, a teasing look on her face.

"Oh Ollie. Ollie, Ollie, Ollie." She looked around at all of us. "We managed to beat not one, but four supervillains today, AND it is Alan's birthday AND Skylar got her powers back. Time to celebrate!"

They all exchanged looks. I sighed, glancing at the decorations already up. No way I was getting out of this. "Let's celebrate!"

**Kaz's POV**

And celebrate we did. Before long, word had spread of the Annihilator's defeat and the return of Skylar's powers, and soon the entire ER was filled with superheroes of all sorts, all there to celebrate Skylar's official return to the superhero world.

It was a total success, music was blasting through the hospital's intercoms, food for both Normos and superheroes was set up on tables, and even Dani's piñata had been used, some of the candy still littering the floor. Jaime and Benny were holding two ends of a limbo rod, with Alivia trying to successfully get under the stick without falling over or hitting it. Skylar was over by the snack table, talking with the Crusher about something. Oliver was hanging with Spotlight and Alleycat, all of them laughing about something they found funny.

I looked around the room, trying to spot the one person I'd been looking for for the past twenty minutes. And then, I found her.

Dani was sitting on top of one of the counters that had been pushed out of the way for the party, chatting animatedly with Solar Flare and Hummingbird. Her ankles were crossed, her legs kicking back and forth as she spoke. She was waving her hands slightly, just like she always did when she was excited, but keeping them controlled enough not to spill the drink that was in her left hand. Her hair was brushed out of the way for once, her green eyes twinkling with excitement as she told her friends a story.

And maybe it was the music, or that sparkle in her eyes, or the leftover adrenaline in my system, but next few minutes of my life could only be defined by three words: Impulsive, bold, and awesome.

"Dani!" I pushed my way through the crowd until I reached. She looked up from her conversation, that brilliant smile of hers broadening.

"Kaz!" She exclaimed. I reached for her hand.

"C'mon." I didn't have to say anything else. She placed her plastic cup down on the counter and let me lead her into the hallway without a second's thought.

"Where are we going?" Dani laughed lightly as she let me pull her into the nearest empty hall. I didn't even hesitate, pushing her into the wall as my lips crashed into hers. She didn't fight the kiss in the slightest, instead moving her lips against mine, her hand finding its way to the back of my neck to pull me closer even as my hands reached the small of her back. It was the perfect kiss really – the intimacy, the sounds of our hearts beating almost in sync and…did she always smell like that? Like the way the world smells right before a storm hit – fresh and sharp with a hint of an electrical charge? I'd never noticed that before, but even more than that, I'd never imagined that her lips could be this soft, nor could I ever guess that they would move this perfectly against mine.

"Wow." Dani breathed as we pulled away, gasping for air. She laughed breathlessly, that smile never leaving her face. "You certainly took your time." And she pulled me in for another kiss before I could even recover from the first.


	2. Lair, Lair

**Dani's POV**

"I think my costume is awesome." My brother insisted as we headed into Mighty Med. I glanced down at his costume – a Hawaiian shirt and party hat over a normal bear costume – and shrugged, rolling my eyes. It was Halloween once again, and as usual, Ollie's costume was lame. Every year, he would think of something boring, Kaz would get a simple costume to save himself cash, and I would go all out. It was my favorite time of the year, really, but not because of the candy. It was the one day where you could be whatever or whoever you wanted to be, without judgement. "Well, it's better than yours."

"Please!" I exclaimed, fiddling with my gloves. I was wearing a black, strapless dress that ended just past my knees, the ends ripped to give me a scarier look. My black gloves were long – almost reaching my elbows – and fingerless, and I'd traded out my usual converse for a pair of knee-high black combat boots. A pair of small-ish black wings (each about the size of a basketball) were attached tightly to the back of the dress, and my halo, black and fluffy, was crookedly being held just above my head by the transparent headband that had come with the costume. I licked my lips, unused to the taste of the black lipstick that stained them. "My wicked angel look is hot!"

"Well, we'll just ask Liv and Jaime then." Oliver insisted as we walked through the doors. The two girls were sitting at the ER counter, chatting animatedly with each other. I smiled when I saw their costumes, glad that they had also tried for something cool this Halloween. Jaime wore a velvety, purple V-neck dress that, although the back when down to the ground, the front was ripped all the way up past her knees. The sleeves were ripped away as well, the ends hanging far past her hands, but the tears giving her the room to move her hands freely. A matching colored witch's hat sat upon on head, shading her face, and complimenting her short, blonde hair surprising well. Alivia, on the other hand, had gone in a different direction. The red head wore a horizontally striped red, white, and green t-shirt over a blue overall dress that ended just past her thighs. Along with the dress, she wore knee-high red socks, red converse shoes, and blood-red lipstick. She carried a plastic axe loosely in her left hand.

"Witchy, Chucky." I greeted as we walked up. They grinned when they saw us.

"Hey guys." Jaime smiled at us. She nodded at me. "Wicked costume, Dani."

"Thank you." I smiled, curtseying. Alivia frowned at Oliver.

"Where's your costume, Oliver?" She asked. I smirked at his expression.

"I think my point has been proven." I stated, moving to sit down just as Kaz walked in, carrying a book under his arm.

"Hey Liv, Jaime, Oliver…Dee." He smiled at me and I ducked my head, blushing at the memory of what had happened at Skylar's party last night. He cleared his throat, turning to my brother. "Dude, I thought we were going to the Halloween party at school. Why aren't you in costume?"

I laughed a bit as Ollie grew even more annoyed. "I am! Why else would I be dressed like this?' He gestured at his outfit.

"Because it's much nicer than what you usually wear?" Jaime suggested, earning a high-five from Alivia.

"Oliver, what are you even supposed to be?" The red-head asked.

"I'm a party animal." He looked at us as if it should have been obvious. "See? Party?" He pointed at the hat, then at the bear costume underneath. "Animal."

"Yeah, no one's going to get that." Kaz told him. "Unlike my costume."

Ollie's brow furrowed in confusion. "You're not wearing a costume."

"Yes, I am. I'm a nerd." Kaz replied, grinning. "See? I'm holding a book, like a nerd."

"That's insane. No one's even going to notice you're wearing a costume at all." Oliver insisted as Skylar walked in. I frowned, noticing that while she was just in her Skylar Storm costume rather than an actual Halloween costume, her signature pink streak in her hair was now white. Weird. Maybe it was part of her costume?

"Hey guys. Kaz, I like your nerd costume." She complimented. Ollie threw his hands up, giving up. "Oliver, I have no idea what you are."

"So, you must be loving having your powers back." He commented. "If you're looking for a way to thank me…" He tapped his cheek, obviously expecting a kiss. Well, obvious to those of us who were born on Earth. Skylar, on the other hand, didn't seem to get it.

"I was going to kiss you, but okay." She shrugged nonchalantly, tapping Oliver's cheek. Alivia gave my brother a sympathetic look, then looked at Skylar.

"Hey, Skylar, what's up with your hair?" She asked, leaning forward to pull at the white strand gently. "Your streak is usually pink."

"Oh, uh, it's part of my Halloween costume." Skylar explained. "I'm Skylar Storm at 80 years old."

She bent forward and, in her best granny voice, said, "There's a storm coming." She coughed convincingly. "Skylar Storm."

"Well, good." Oliver commented. "Because everyone knows that a telltale sign of a superhero turning evil is when one of their distinctive features turns white."

"I'm not evil. I'm just old." Skylar corrected quickly.

"Evil Skylar would have been a much better costume." Jaime commented. Alivia nodded.

"Yeah, you could have gone all goth, and pretended to try and kill everyone." She agreed. Skylar rolled her eyes.

"Yeah…no." She told us. Kaz cleared his throat.

"Hey, uh, Dani?" I looked up. "Could I talk to you for a second? It's about…the homework thing."\

"Right." I agreed.

"What homework thing?" Ollie questioned, confused as to why Kaz would come to me about a homework thing.

"English. He wants my copy of the book review." I explained.

"And since you never share, I went to the one person I knew would." Kaz added. I nodded.

"I think I left in my locker. C'mon." I led him out of the room and into the change rooms designated for the staff. No one ever really used them, so I figured we'd get some privacy in there.

The moment I closed the door, Kaz pushed me up against it, kissing me. I kissed him back, memories of Skylar's party swirling through my head. "We should have started doing this ages ago." He murmured, breaking off the kiss.

"What? Making out in locker rooms like horny teenagers?" I questioned. He looked at me.

"Is there another definition for us?" He questioned. I laughed lightly, being careful not to be too loud. I wrapped my arms around his neck, relaxing between him and the door.

"We need to talk about this, though." I whispered. He looked at me, a look of dread beginning to form. "Nothing bad, I swear."

"Please! When does a girl say 'we need to talk' and it not mean something bad?" He asked rhetorically. I sighed.

"I'm assuming we're going to keep doing this." I guessed.

"I have no plans of stopping." He replied. I kissed him again, pleased with his answer, and also wondering why the hell we waited as long as we did.

"Good, but what are we going to say? Are we going to tell people?" I breathed, our noses touching. "What are we going to tell Ollie?"

"He is not going to like this." Kaz sighed, saying what we both knew to be true. "He's going to freak out because I'm-"

"His best friend and I'm his sister." I finished for him. "He's going to worry that it'll ruin the friendships we have with him, and then he's going to worry about what happens if it goes wrong."

"IF." Kaz emphasized. "Which it won't." We looked at each other for a while, thinking.

"So, what are we going to tell him?" I asked eventually.

"I vote nothing." Kaz offered. I looked at him.

"You want us to lie to him?" Ollie and I had our issues, sure. Every set of siblings did, but honesty had always been the key factor in our relationship.

"He can't get upset about what he doesn't know about." Kaz reasoned. I hesitated, and he quickly reassured me. "We won't have to lie forever. Just until we've got all of this figured out, and we've been together long enough to reassure him that things won't change."

"Yeah, okay." I nodded. Neither of us liked lying to him, but this was important to us, and sometimes you had to do things you didn't like. "So, for now we keep it our little secret."

"And enjoy it as long as we can." Kaz agreed, leaning in for another kiss.

**Skylar's POV**

"So, why aren't your guys wearing your Spark and Geminus uniforms?" Oliver inquired, looking at Jaime and Alivia. "I mean, I figured you'd be excited about the only day of the year that you can wear them in public."

"We wear those every day!" Alivia reminded him. "I wanted to wear something else, and freak out little kids with my Chucky impression."

Oliver turned to look at her. "Okay, you've been spending too much time with my sister."

"Yeah, probably." She agreed as Kaz and Dani walked back into the room. "I thought you were grabbing your review?"

"I think I left it in my locker at school." Dani shrugged, sitting back down at her earlier spot. "I'll just grab it later…Horace?" She stood up, eyes wide as Horace helped wheel a gurney into the room. Lying unconscious on the gurney was the hero Snowstorm, a cryokinetic with medium length blonde hair and a light blue spandex uniform. "What happened?"

"Oh, I spilled some prune juice on my pants." Horace showed her the stain on his kneecaps while Oliver and Kaz went to go examine Snowstorm.

"I meant the dying superhero." Dani looked at him like he was an idiot.

"Snowstorm was attacked by her nemesis, the Incinerator." Horace explained as the boys took her vitals. "She's in stable condition for now, but there's a risk that the Incinerator's toxin will spread and burn her up inside."

"I don't understand. Why isn't Snowstorm's freezing powers counteracting the heat?" Jaime questioned as Dani joined Oliver and Kaz.

"Because the Annihilator stole her powers a few months ago." Oliver explained, glancing at us. "I saw her canister on his shelf, next to Skylar's."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Horace smiled at them. Oliver nodded.

"Kaz, Dee, and I can go to the Annihilator's lair and get back Snowstorm's powers, and while we're there, we can grab all the other powers and restore them to all the superheroes who lost them?" He guessed.

"No, I was thinking about how much I love Kaz's nerd costume. Yours too, Dani." Horace complimented them before frowning at Oliver. "I have no idea what you are."

My mind was whirling. This was the perfect opportunity. If I could taint all the heroes' powers just like the Annihilator had tainted mine, I could turn half the superhero world evil in one go. But I had to make sure I tainted them before Oliver, Kaz, or Dani could get them back.

**Alivia's POV**

"You guys are sure you don't want our help?" I asked again, looking at Dani. We were in the girl's change room, as she had actually forgotten something in there and I had wanted to talk to her.

"Liv, really. It's fine." She assured me, pulling her cell phone charger out of the locker and pocketing it. I leaned back against the wall of lockers behind me. "The Annihilator and Experion were the only ones with access to the lair, and they're both in Mighty Max, so it's not like we're going to run into trouble. And we've got Skylar to help carry the stuff. Besides, when's the last time you had the day off to spend with Jaime?"

"Fair enough. And, it's not like you'll be by yourself. You'll have Oliver and Skylar." I reasoned. I paused for a moment, then smirked at her. "And of course, you'll have Kaz."

She paused, her hand freezing on the lock, and she looked at me. I smirked cheekily, raising my eyebrows as I awaited her response. After a moment, she let out a frustrated noise. "You know."

"I know." I agreed, smirk growing.

"How?" She sounded exasperated.

"Making out in an empty hallway in the middle of a party isn't exactly the best place to do so, especially if you want to keep this under wraps, Dani." I warned her. "But before you freak, I'm the only one who saw, and I haven't told anyone."

"Good. We'd like to keep it that way." She warned me, giving me a look. I smiled back, pretending to zip my lips shut. "Thank you."

"No prob. But I do expect details later." I replied, following her out of the change room.

"Deal. Anyway, I'm gonna go find the boys. Have fun at the party." She told me, heading off down the hall. I headed into the rec room, where Jaime was watching TV.

"So, just us today." I smiled at her, sitting down beside her.

"Just how I like it." She replied, leaning in to kiss me. The kiss was cut short, however, when Alan came bumbling into the room, pleading with Horace.

"…a Halloween party tonight at the Normo school." He was saying. "Can I go?"

"I don't want you in the Normo World." Horace shook his head, much to Alan's disappointment. "It's too dangerous."

"Too dangerous?" I repeated skeptically. "Horace, this place gets attacked, like, once a week."

"Thank you, Geminus." Horace gave me a look, the sarcasm in his voice enough to shut me up.

"They're right, though. Besides, going to the party will give me a chance to explore my roots, since I'm half-Normo." Alan added.

"Half-Normo?" Horace repeated, confused. "Who told you that?"

"Uh, you did." Alan reminded him, an eyebrow raised.

"Oh, that's right. You are half-Normo." Horace nodded, remembering. "That's the part of your history I'd like to forget, so I did."

"His parenting skills are so on point." Jaime whispered to me. I giggled a bit, but quieted down when Horace gave me another stern look.

"Anyway, you can't go to the party because we're celebrating Halloween right here at Mighty Med." Horace continued. We both looked at him, confused. We hadn't heard anything about that. "I'll show you. Say trick-or-treat.'

"Trick-or-treat." Alan repeated, deciding to humor the man. Horace grinned, then smashed an egg on Alan's sweater vest.

"Trick!" He exclaimed gleefully, much to Alan's annoyance. Not that Horace noticed. "There! Wasn't that fun? I love Halloween!"

Jaime looked at me. "Okay, I know I just said that I wanted to have the day to ourselves, but…"

"You want to see how this train wreck ends up?" I guessed. She nodded. "Agreed."

We watched as Horace left the room, possibly to try the same trick on different staff members, while Alan just looked disappointed. "Hey, Alan, I'm sure Horace will throw a good Halloween party here."

"No, he's not." The black-haired boy rolled his eyes. "He's going to screw it up. He'll have a couple of decorations, and a limbo stick, and that's it."

"Probably." Jaime agreed. Alan sighed.

"I don't know what to do." He told us. "I want to go to this Halloween party tonight at the Normo school, but my Uncle Horace won't let me. I'm thinking about sneaking out and going anyway. What do you think?"

"Sounds like fun." "That's not such a good idea, Alan." Jaime and I replied at the same time.

"Hey, kid." We looked up to see the hero Spotlight standing near us. The 20-year-old, brown haired superhero with light-manipulation powers had stayed after Skylar's party yesterday, complaining of a back injury, but from what I knew about him, he was likely just trying to flirt with the female nurses and doctors. "You should definitely go to that Normo Halloween party."

"Yeah?" Alan looked surprised to see him encouraging him. Dark Warrior stepped out from behind Spotlight and nodded.

"Yeah, and we'll go with you." He added. "Halloween's the only day of the year that we can walk among Normos and now drawn attention to ourselves."

"Yeah? Might be a little hard not to drawn attention to yourselves with Spotlight here." I commented, jerking my thumb at the hero. He raised his hands in the universal I-Surrender motion.

"No powers then. Got it." He assured me. By this point, he wasn't the only hero who'd gathered around us. Solar Flare, Hydros, and Phantom had all joined in, eager for a break from the superhero world.

"You can all come." Alan promised them. "But I don't want my Uncle Horace to know I'm gone."

"And how do you plan to keep that from him? He's going to notice eventually." I informed him, still thinking that this was a bad idea.

"Hey, Phillip!" Alan called, running over to a nearby nurse to talk to him.

"We're going to be spending our entire night trying to keep them out of trouble, aren't we?" I guessed, sighing. Jaime shrugged.

"I don't mind. Besides, they're superheroes. How much trouble can they get into?"

**Dani's POV**

"Where is that girl?" Kaz muttered as we walked around Mighty Med, trying to find Skylar. Since we knew we'd have a lot of powers to carry, and that Oliver had trouble carrying even one due to the weight (seriously bro, hit a gym. It'll change your life), we were hoping to get the newly-re-powered superhero to give us a hand.

"There she is." I told them, running up to Skylar to stop her from leaving. She was probably heading to the party, though I was a little annoyed that she would leave without us. "Skylar!"

She stopped at the doorway, then turned to smile at us. "Hey guys, what's going on?"

"We need your help." Ollie explained. "Kaz, Dani, and I are going to the Annihilator's lair to bring back all the stolen powers and restore them to all the superheroes."

"But they're really heavy." Kaz added. "Oliver's too weak to carry them, and I'm too lazy, so we need you to come and give Dani a hand."

"Jerk." I muttered, half-heartedly as he smirked at me. I looked at Skylar. "So, you want to come with us?"

"Dang it!" She shook her head apologetically at us. "I'd love to, but Horace won't let me leave Mighty Med until he runs some tests on me." She paused, looking into the distance. "What's that, Horace? Okay, on my way." She looked at us, smiling. "That was my super-hearing test. Aced it."

"Alright." Ollie sighed, disappointed as she left. Kaz looked around.

"We could ask Tecton." He suggested, gesturing at the hero. He was standing at the counter, probably waiting for a prescription or something.

"He's a superhero. He has more important things to do than be our errand boy." My brother told us. I shook my head at him, smiling teasingly.

"Think outside the box, Ollie." I replied. "He's a superhero. Superheroes help people. We're people. We need help. He'll help us."

"Hate to break it to you, Dee, but it doesn't work like that." He told me. I smirked in response, then spun around on my heels and walked purposefully over to Tecton.

"Hey, Tecton, do you want to help us with an errand?" I inquired.

"Sure." He agreed easily. "I'm a superhero. I help people. You're people. You need help. So, I'll help you."

"See? Told you." I stuck my tongue out at Ollie before explaining to Tecton what was going on.

**Alivia's POV**

"This is such a mistake." I muttered as we walked into the school. If it were just a few of us, it wouldn't be so bad, but there were about seven superheroes walking into a Normo school, and as far I knew, only Jaime and I spent a fair bit of time out in the Normo world. Jaime and I had a bet going to see how long it would take for this all to fall apart.

"Chillax, Gem." Spotlight told me, an easy going grin on his face. "This is going to be awesome."

"Finally, I get to see Normo teenagers in their natural habitat." Alan murmured as we walked into the school. I had to admit; it looked pretty wicked. Everywhere you looked, there were curtains hanging from the ceiling, doors were covered in thick, creepy cobwebs, and Halloween themed music played from the PA, loud and festive.

"Yes, and what's more natural than pretending to be the undead or an ice cone?" Jaime joked, holding my hand.

"Says the couple dressed as Chucky and her faithful witch." Spotlight joked before pushing past Alan to head over to the snack table, where a couple of my classmates, Destiny and Paris, were chatting.

"Alan?" Gus made his way through the crowd, dressed completely in black with pieces of garbage, popcorn, and candy wrapped stuck all over to him. "I almost didn't recognize you in that crazy costume. A sweater vest with sleeves! Insane!"

"Hey Gus." I smiled at the boy, all the while trying to keep an eye on the heroes who had begun to mingle with the crowd. I frowned at him. "What are you supposed to be?"

"The floor of a movie theatre." He replied, as if it should have been obvious. I chuckled a bit at his idea; it sure was an original idea.

"Normo log, entry one: you can find free snacks on the floor of a Normo movie theatre." Alan murmured into his recorder, while Gus went off to talk to some girl in a cowgirl costume. Alan looked back at me. "Okay, I'm gonna go do some more research."

"Alright, guys just…stay out of trouble. We can't let anybody know that superheroes exist, so no powers whatsoever. Got it?"

"That means you, Incognito." Jaime added, looking pointedly to an apparently empty spot next to her. The air shimmer and Incognito reappeared. The remaining heroes separated into the crowd. I went to head for the snack table, but Jaime stopped me.

"Hey, what's going on? You're really on edge about this." She told me. I sighed, running a hand through my hair.

"I'm just…it's a long story, Jaime." I sighed. She crossed her arms, giving me a look.

"I've got time." She replied, challenging me to walk away from this conversation. I sighed, grabbed her by the hand, and dragged her into one of the other classrooms.

"I'm trying to get my dad to release me from my sidekick oath." I told her, looking around to make sure no Normos were eavesdropping. She looked at me, realization dawning on her.

"You're trying to become a fully-fledged superhero." She realized. I nodded.

"If I can get released into full hero-ship before my next birthday, I'll be one of the top three youngest superheroes of this generation, just behind you and Skylar Storm." I reasoned. She looked at me.

"That's why you've been cranky with Spotlight all day. He's currently the third youngest superhero. He's the guy you have to beat." She smirked.

"He started being Spotlight two months past his sixteenth birthday. I have just a little over three months to beat him, and I really want to beat him. The League of Heroes is always trying to get younger members in their ranks, and if I'm one of the youngest full superheroes, then there's a chance I might be eventually become a League member."

"Just like your dad." She nodded.

"But I need to prove how responsible I can be first, and it's hard enough considering my only assignment is to keep Oliver, Kaz, and Dani out of trouble – which is literally impossible – and now if things go wrong here…"

"They won't. We'll keep them out of trouble, and then you'll look even better in your dad's eyes for being able to do so." She promised me. She leaned forward, kissing me on the nose, a twinkle in her eyes. "I promise."

**Skylar's POV**

I opened my space portal in front of the Annihilator's cell in Mighty Max and, after checking to make sure there weren't any guards, I stepped out onto the cold, steel floor. The Annihilator, who'd been pacing around, jumped when he saw me, startled.

"Jeez! Don't you knock before you enter from a space portal?" He demanded grumpily.

"Sorry." I apologized. "But I have bad news. Oliver, Dani, and Kaz are going to return the powers in your lair to the superheroes that you stole them from."

"Hmm…Maybe we can use this to our advantage." The Annihilator hummed. I nodded.

"That's what I was thinking. I think I should sabotage the powers before they get there." I replied.

"Then when they restore the powers, they'll create an army of evil superheroes." I could hear the smile in his voice. "Brilliant."

I smiled back, then froze when I heard footsteps. "Wait, someone's coming."

I turned my invisible and watched as a guard walked by, oblivious to the fact that I was even here. I made myself visible once more and smiled at the Annihilator. "Man, I love doing that." It felt so good to use my powers.

"Make sure the Normos are delayed." The Annihilator instructed. I nodded.

"See you later." I told him, turning myself invisible. He looked in my general direction.

"You're still there, aren't you?" He guessed. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Sorry, I just really love doing that." I told him before actually heading off to stop Dani and the boys.

**Dani's POV**

"Alright, Tecton said he'd meet us at the lair." I told the boys, walking up to them. "He's helping Jenn with some baby stuff."

"I can't believe he got his ex pregnant. Won't it be awesome when we have a baby Tecton crawling around?" Kaz chuckled. "I bet his burps cause mini-earthquakes."

"You don't know it's a boy. I think it'll be a girl." I smirked. "But yeah, it will be awesome."

"Guys!" Our conversation was interrupted by Skylar, who ran up to us with a relieved expression on her face. "You haven't left yet."

"We were about to when we realized that we need one of Experion's eyeballs to get past the Annihilator's retina scanner." Ollie explained.

"So we went all the way down to Mighty Max-" Kaz added.

"Then Experion remembered that the Annihilator keeps an extra eyeball under the 'You're not welcome' mat." I finished.

"Which seems like an unsanitary place to keep an eyeball, but then again, the guy does live in a sewer." Ollie commented. Suddenly, an alarm began to go off, and Horace burst out of the rec room, carrying a jack-o'-lantern in his arms.

"Snowstorm has taken a sudden turn for the worse. We have to restore her powers right away, or she'll die." He told us, worried.

"We'll head to the Annihilator's lair right away." I promised him. He nodded.

"Good, oh, and if you see Alan, tell him I made this for him." He held out the jack-o'-lantern to show us. To be perfectly honest, it was really lame, with just a couple of triangles for eyes, a smaller triangle for a nose, and a mouth. I wasn't any master pumpkin carver or anything, but even I could come up with something cooler than that.

"That's the worst carved pumpkin ever." Kaz said what I'm sure we were all thinking.

"Are you kidding? It's a perfectly accurate portrait!" Horace defended himself before pushing open the door to the rec room. "Dr. O-Lantern!" He called inside. "Let's go tend to Snowstorm."

Out of the rec room walked Dr. O-Lantern, a humanoid man with a pumpkin for a head. In all fairness, Horace's pumpkin carving was fairly accurate. Ollie turned to us as the two doctors ran into the ER. "Okay, we need to get to that lair fast."

"Maybe I can open up a space portal for you guys." Skylar suggested, trying to be helpful. "You'll get there in, like, a second."

We all grinned at the very idea. "Ooh, I've always wanted to travel through a space portal." I beamed.

"Wait, is it cold?" Ollie pulled his windbreaker out of his bag. "Should we wear jackets?"

"You'll be fine." Skylar assured us. "But don't tell Horace I used my powers, okay? I'm worried he'll get mad and I hear he's throwing eggs at people."

"Deal." We all replied, excited. She raised her hand and a rip in the space time continuum appeared next to us, just large enough for us to step through. Ollie, Kaz, and I hurried through, curious to see what it felt and looked like. But instead of walking through the portal into the Annihilator's lair, we found ourselves floating in a massive bubble, in the middle of deep space.

"Where are we?" Kaz questioned, looking around. I fidgeted a bit, the bubble feeling weird under my feet, as if I was actually floating on my own.

"Skylar's space portal accidentally stranded us in space." I realized, poking the bubble to see what would happen. Nothing did.

"Horace was right! Her powers must still be messed up." Ollie continued. "But luckily, we're surrounded by some kind of – Dani, stop poking the bubble!"

I raised my hands way from the bubble, rolling my eyes. If it didn't pop the first time I touched it, I seriously doubted that it would pop if I continued, but whatever. Then I rubbed my arms, shivering and regretting that I was wearing a tank-top. "It's cold in here." I commented.

"Well, you should have brought your windbreaker." Ollie scolded, pulling his on. I sent him a look, a glare that softened when Kaz unbuttoned his plaid over-shirt.

"Here." He told me, handing it to me while he was left shivering in his black t-shirt.

"Kaz-" I tried to stop him, but he looked at me.

"Dani, take it." He told me, his voice stern. I rolled my eyes, despite my smile, and pulled it on, rolling up the sleeves that were just a couple of inches too long for me.

"Dude, really? You're giving her your shirt?" Ollie questioned. Kaz paused, trying to think of an excuse, then shrugged.

"It's better than listening to her complain the whole time." He replied.

"You know what? Let's just go back through the…" I trailed off, realizing that Skylar's portal was gone. "Uh, where's the portal?"

"It's gone." Ollie realized, a look of dread growing on his face. "What if we're stuck in here? How much oxygen do we have."

"Don't worry. We're not going to run out of oxygen." Kaz promised him. I glanced at him.

"How do you know?" I inquired, curious. He pointed past me.

"Because we're going to be killed by that meteor first." He replied. Ollie and I both turned to see a massive, twenty-foot-tall meteor flying right at us.

"Ahh!" We screamed in terror.

"If anyone's got a plan, let's hear it!" I shouted, back up as much as I could. Not that it would do much in the end – the farthest I could get was a single foot behind my brother and my boyfriend.

"Right." Ollie nodded, pulling up the hood on his windbreaker.

"You really think that's going to help?" I questioned incredulously. He shook his head.

"No, but I'm not going to spend my last few minutes with a cold neck." He replied. I looked at Kaz, who was just as freaked as we were, and without a plan. I looked around the bubble, not entirely sure what I was looking for. I felt like a goldfish in its bowl, or a hamster in its…that's it!

"Hamsters!" I shouted, feeling like a genius.

"What?" The boys just stared at me, confused. I grinned.

"Run like hamsters!" I exclaimed, begging to run while facing the left. "Don't ask questions, just do it!"

They exchanged confused looks, but did as I requested, running alongside me. Slowly, but surely, the bubble began to move, until the meteor flew past us harmlessly. "Ta-da!" I sang, smirking at Ollie. "See? I can come up with good ideas too."

"You just saved our-Hamsters!" Kaz cut himself off and we raced forward in the other direction as another meteor flew past us. This one was much closer, just barely missing the side of the bubble.

"We can't keep this up forever." Ollie breathed heavily, looking at us. "We need to get out of here."

"Give me your watch." Kaz instructed, pulling out his phone. Ollie looked at him.

"What, why?" He questioned.

"Just give it to me!" Kaz insisted impatiently. Ollie obediently removed his watch and handed it to Kaz.

"What are you thinking, Kaz?" I questioned as he began to smash the watch with his phone.

"You do know that you can't stop time just by breaking my watch, right?" Ollie questioned.

"I think I know how to open a space portal." Kaz explained.

"How?" Ollie questioned.

"Do you remember how Silver Shield opened a hole in space by shooting a neutron blast through a quartz crystal?" Kaz questioned. "Well, your watch has a quartz crystal in it and cell phones give off neutron blasts."

"No, they don't!" Ollie exclaimed, exasperated.

"Well, they give off something!" I retorted. Ollie looked at me. "I think it could work, and I know it can't make things any worse than they are now."

"Look, I know you guys were right about the costume and about Tecton, but this makes absolutely no sense at all." Ollie told us.

"Do you have a better idea?" Kaz questioned rhetorically. "Because by my watch, we have about a minute to live."

"Fine." Ollie sighed. He paused. "Wait, if you have a watch, why'd you break mine?"

"Because it's part of a matching set." Kaz reasoned, showing him the identical watches.

**Alivia's POV**

So far, the party wasn't that bad. The other heroes had been reasonable, not showing off with their powers or weaponry, so as far as anyone knew, we were all just ordinary Normos having fun. "Hey, Red." I looked up to see Spotlight waltzing over to me, a smirk on his face.

"Don't call me that." I replied, filling my drink at the fountain on the refreshments table. He leaned against the table, looking at me.

"You don't like me much, do you?" He guessed. I didn't respond. "Oh come on! You're nice to everyone, even Alan, but not me."

"So? Why do you care?" I inquired. He shrugged.

"I don't. I just want to why. I never did anything to you personally." He commented. "So, is it because you're trying to replace me as one of the youngest heroes out there, or because I used to date your girl over there?"

I glanced over at Spark, who was speaking with Jordan about something comic book related. I smiled, seeing the enthusiasm in her eyes, before looking back at Spotlight. "I don't care that she's bi."

"I know. But you don't like that I'm her ex, and that we've been hanging out lately." He added. I rolled my eyes. "Look, all heroes work together at some point, so I'd rather if we're not enemies or something.

"We're not enemies, Spotlight." I rolled my eyes, and tried to walk away, but he grabbed me by the arm.

"No, seriously." He stopped me. "Gem, you're a fairly respectable sidekick, and babysitting the Normos-"

"Their names are Kaz, Dani, and Oliver, and I'm their bodyguard, not their babysitter." I interrupted him. He nodded.

"Alright. Protecting Kaz, Dani, and Oliver can't be easy, but you're really good at it." He complimented me. I blushed a bit, but didn't reply. "And as for our Jaime, well…you don't have to be jealous."

"I'm not!" I protested. I wasn't, really.

"Good. Because I don't stand a chance standing next to you." He told me. I couldn't help but smile. "So seriously, we cool?"

"I guess-" I broke off as my phone vibrated. I paled when I read the incoming text.

**From: Dr. H. Diaz**

**Geminus, I'm looking for Alan. I don't suppose you've seen him?**

"What's wrong?" Spotlight frowned, looking at me. I pocketed the phone, not replying to the text message.

"We're busted." I replied, worried. Crap, crap, crap.

**Dani's POV**

"Okay, it's ready." Kaz announced after what seemed like forever and a day. "I'll open the space portal on ten."

"Just hurry it up." I muttered, pacing. I was cold again, and the air around us was beginning to taste stale.

"One Mississippi, two Mississippi-" Kaz began to count aloud. Ollie looked at him like he was crazy.

"We have no air! Stop with the Mississippis!" He snapped.

"Well, now you made me lose count!" Kaz exclaimed, annoyed. "I'll have to restart. One Mississippi, two Mississippi…"

**Skylar's POV**

I hummed to myself as I paced around the Annihilator's lair, trying to remember what I'd forgotten to do. I'd made a mental list earlier of my responsibilities for the day, but for the life of me, I just couldn't remember what it was.

"Contaminate superhero powers, check. Mail cable bill, check." I hummed, thinking. "What am I forgetting?"

Suddenly, an image of Oliver popped into my head, followed by Dani and Kaz. Oh, right. "Oops." I laughed lightly to myself, snapping my fingers to create a space portal for them back to Mighty Med. Didn't want them to suffocate in deep space, now did I?

**Dani's POV**

"Ah!" I cried out in startled surprise as Ollie, Kaz, and I fell backwards through a space portal, landing on the floors of Mighty Med. We all looked around, completely stunned that Kaz's idea actually worked. "You…did it?"

"Always the tone of surprise." Kaz chuckled, climbing to his feet.

"You saved our lives." Ollie echoed my surprise. "Your crazy idea worked."

"And I didn't even get to ten Mississippi!" Kaz chuckled.

"Seriously though, I'm never going to second guess you two again." My brother insisted, grinning.

"Good, because we have to the Annihilator's lair." Who knows how long we were stuck in space? Wow, that was a sentence I'd never thought I ever have to say.

"Yeah, according to my two watches, Tecton's been waiting for us for, like, ten minutes." Kaz added, before running off towards the exit, Ollie and I hot on his heels.

**Skylar's POV**

"Last one." I muttered, contaminating the last of the power canisters.

"Skylar?" I spun around at the sound of my name, shocked to see Tecton standing behind me. He looked at me, confused. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh, Kaz, Dani, and Oliver asked me to get Snowstorm's powers back." I lied. "She's really sick."

"You don't seem like you're in much of a hurry to get back to Mighty Med." He commented suspiciously, looking at me in a new light. "And what's that in your hand?"

"Nothing." I shook my head, forcing a smile onto my face.

"Really? Because it looks like a device that's only purpose is to contaminate powers." He challenged, stepping closer to me. I backed away, trying to make myself look vulnerable. I needed him to believe me on this.

"Tecton, I swear, you're wrong. I'm Skylar Storm. I would never do anything evil." I pleaded with him. But I could tell that it wouldn't make any difference. Even if he wasn't about to attack me, he didn't trust me. Fine, then time to take some initiative. "Like this, for instance!"

I charged at him, using both my super-speed and my super-strength to land several strong punches to his gut before he could even react. I'd taken him by surprise, for sure; no matter his suspicions, Tecton would never have expected me to outright attack him. Before he could land a blow of his own, I spun around, using my momentum to help strengthen the kick I directed to his stomach.

The force of my kick sent him flying through the air, directly into the wall. I turned around as he hit the ground, and reached for the power contaminator device. But my super-senses picked up on movement behind me before I could. I spun around, telekinetically catching the large metal pipe that Tecton had thrown at me. Having no use for the pipe, I crushed it into a ball, discarding to the corner for me to deal with later.

I turned to face Tecton, considering my options. I had more powers than him by far, but he was more durable than I, and it was near impossible to injure him, which would make things difficult. So, time for a different strategy.

Tecton raised his hands, sending a tectonic wave of energy at me. I didn't move – I didn't have the chance – and the wave knocked me of my feet and onto the ground. I laid there, wincing at the pain that had erupted in the back of my head when I hit the ground. Tecton stood over me, a deep frown on his face as he looked down at me, clearly bothered by this turn of events. I bet he never thought that I, of all people, would go dark side. The fool.

I waited until he lowered his guard, then shot a blast of energy right at his exposed chest. He stumbled back in pain and surprise, and I took advantage, sending several blasts his way to overwhelm him. Then, while he was still recovering from my last attack, I used my powers to create a sort of whip, using it to tie him up. He hit the ground, passed out cold.

I made sure that he really was down this time, then swiped the power contaminator off the shelf. I stepped over him, smirking. "Now, you will become Evil Tecton." I announced, bending down to inject him.

**Alivia's POV**

"Alan!" I made my way through the crowd of people, trying to reach the shapeshifter. He, however, was busy making another Normo log.

"Normo log, entry 37: Baby carrots, baby corn, baby back ribs," He listed the foods on the snack table. "Normos love to eat babies."

"Alan!" I grabbed him by the arm. "Listen, we have to get out of here. Horace-"

"Is right there." Jaime interrupted, pointing at the said man, who was walking over to us. "Why does he always wear a suit out in the Normo world? Does he think that's all they wear?"

"No clue." I whispered back as he stalked over to us, clearly annoyed.

"Alan! How could you?" He demanded. "I specifically told you not to leave the hospital. You disobeyed me and put the secret of the superhero world in jeopardy."

"Don't worry." Alan told him. "I'm learning a lot and besides, no one even suspects that these are actual superheroes."

"Everyone!" Gus shouted over the crowd. "It's time to announce the best costume of the night."

We all turned to see Gus standing next to our Dark Warrior, a guy dressed as a nerd, and another guy in a Dark Warrior costume. "Our finalists are two Dark Warriors and a nerd."

"And our winner is…" Gus stepped next to our Dark Warrior. "Not this guy!" He pushed the actual superhero away and turned to the other guy. "Congratulations, Ashton. You're the winner."

"What?" The real Dark Warrior stared at Gus, aghast. "How could you pick his costume over mine?"

"Because your mom obviously made yours." Gus explained.

"So what if my mom made mine? Can his costume do this?" The Dark Warrior challenged, shooting his grappling hook up at the ceiling. It hooked onto a water pipe, and ripped it down, the pipe falling in the direction of Amber, a girl dressed in a fairy costume.

"Shit!" I cursed, watching as Mr. Quick's reflexes took over and he sped forward at super speed to pull the girl out of harm's way. "I knew this was going to happen."

"Now these kids know that superheroes exist." Horace worried.

"Don't worry; I think I know what to do." Alan reassured him before clearing his throat and speaking very loudly, above the crowd. "Ugh! Those special effects are SO lame!"

"Yeah!" Several students agreed, and the rest fell for the mob mentality.

"Huh, I thought they looked amazing." Gus commented thoughtfully. "But I don't want to seem like I don't fit in, so I'm going to agree. Boo!"

"And the idiocy of Normos never fails." Jaime smirked as the crowd began to boo the 'lame special effects'. Alan smirked, proud that his ruse had worked.

"Alan, that was quick thinking. How'd you come up with that?" Horace inquired, looking at the crowd in surprise.

"One thing I've learned in that Normo teenagers hate everything and can easily be whipped up into an angry mob." Alan explained. "Watch." He cleared his throat and pointed at Gus. "That kid has glasses! Get him!"

To my genuine surprise, everyone charged at Gus. At least the poor kid had the sense to start running, and was halfway out the door before any could stop him. "Spotlight!" I snapped, grabbing the hero by the back of his greyish-blue shirt and pulling him back before he could follow the mob. "No!"

"Party-pooper." He accused good-naturedly. "Oh, hey Horace."

"Alan," Horace turned to his nephew, a serious look on his face, "I've underestimated you. I didn't think that was possible."

"No one did, sir." I informed him.

**Skylar's POV**

"Skylar?" I looked away from Tecton's limp body when I heard Oliver's voice. He, along with Kaz and Dani, stepped into the lair, a look of surprise on all of their faces. I noted that Dani was wearing Kaz's over shirt, but didn't comment on it yet. "What are you doing here?"

"And what happened to Tecton?" Dani added. Thankfully, she didn't look suspicious or anything, just confused and maybe a bit concerned for the hero.

"My Skylar Senses told me something was wrong." I lied. "I got here and found Tecton trying to steal all the powers."

"No, no, no. This is all a big misunderstanding, okay?" Oliver smiled at me reassuringly. "We asked Tecton to meet us here to get the powers, but somehow, we got stranded in space." He paused, realizing what he was saying. "I'm not pointing any fingers."

"I am. It was you!" Kaz pointed at me accusingly.

"Yeah, what the hell, Skylar?" Dani added, crossing her arms.

"I-I'm sorry." I tried to make myself look as apologetic as possible. "My powers are still glitchy."

"It's alright. Everyone makes mistakes." Oliver assured me.

'Anyway, I caught Tecton here trying to inject himself with all these powers, and then he attacked me." I told them. "I think he's evil and working with the Annihilator."

"No, Tecton wouldn't do that." Dani insisted. Kaz nodded.

"Yeah, Tecton can't be evil; he's my boy!" He agreed with her. I gestured down at Tecton, where his meteorite insignia had turned from blue to white while I waited for Oliver, Dani, and Kaz.

"See for yourself." I told them seriously.

Oliver, who'd bent down to examine his friend, ran his hand along the insignia. "His insignia turned white. He is evil."

They all looked at each other, deeply bothered by this news. I glanced at them, briefly wondering if this was how they'll react when they eventually find out about me, or would their reaction be more of anger? "C'mon. We need to save Snowstorm." I reminded them.

**Xxx**

"Skylar, thanks for your help." Oliver mentioned to me after examining a now awake and alert Snowstorm. "Because of you, she's going to be okay."

"Yeah, but now it's freezing in here." Kaz complained. Oliver smirked at him.

"Really? I didn't notice." He commented, zipping up his windbreaker. Dani began to fumble with the buttons of Kaz's shirt.

"Right, you probably want this back now." She said, as if she'd forgotten that she'd borrowed it.

"No, it's fine." Kaz sighed. "I still can't believe that all this time Tecton was really the Annihilator's boy."

"I know." I agreed. "But at least, now you can restore the powers of all the superheroes that Horace contacted."

"That's true." Dani smiled. She walked past me to grab one of the power canisters off of the cart we were using to bring them places.

"Actually, maybe we should wait." Oliver suggested, a thoughtful look on his face. "I want to hold off for a day or two, just to see if Snowstorm comes down with any negative side effects."

"I think we should do it now." Kaz told him.

"Well, waiting is the safer play." Oliver insisted.

"What happened to you not second-guessing us?" Dani questioned, readjusting her hold on the canister. Even though she was more in shape than the boys, she was still having trouble carrying the weight. Dumb Normos and their lack of super strength. It was kinda funny, actually.

"Besides, we restored Skylar's powers and she's perfectly fine." Kaz added. "Right, Skylar?"

"Yep." I smiled at them. "I've never felt better."

"Alright." Oliver nodded. "Let's go with your instincts and restore everyone's powers."

They headed down the hall, to the rec room where all the other heroes waiting patiently for the return of their powers. I turned around to look at Snowstorm, who was smirking at me. I could see that the insignias on her nails, once a dark blue color, had lost their color and turned white, just like the streak in my hair. She curled her fingers inwards, hiding the nails from sight, but the smirk never left her face.

I smirked to myself, pleased. By the end of the day, half of the heroes in the hospital would have been turned evil, and it was only a matter of time before I got to the rest of them.


	3. Mighty Mole

**Oliver's POV**

I looked up from the book in my hands, hearing some sounds coming from outside the window. I glanced at the clock, the current time, 12:34 A.M., shining back at me. I sighed, sitting up in the bed as I heard something heavy hit the roof, just outside the open window. A moment later, a bag was tossed through the window, and my sister starting climbing in.

I cleared my throat and Dani froze, one leg still hanging out the window. She looked like a deer caught in headlights, eyes as wide as saucers as she realized that I'd caught her. I raised an eyebrow as she recovered from her shock, waiting for her to say something.

"Wha…what are you doing in my room?" She questioned eventually, her tone full of annoyance. She swung her leg in completely and shut the window behind her.

"Waiting for you." I replied, snapping the book closed. "You're two and a half hours past our curfew."

"What are you, Mom?" She questioned, rolling her eyes as she eased off her jacket. She tossed it onto the ground by her bed, obviously not caring too much about it. She walked over to her dresser mirror, brushing her hair back as she went to take out the earrings she was wearing.

"No, but just so you know, Mom's pissed." She paused at that, a nervous look flickering onto her face for a moment. "I lied and told her you were sleeping over at Liv's. Just make sure you don't run into her before school tomorrow."

"Thanks." She sent me a grateful smile, dropping the earrings.

"So, where were you really?" I questioned. She glanced at me through the mirror, then looked down at her dresser, carefully placing the earrings in their box. "Dani!"

"I was out." She replied, annoyed. I looked at her. "Look, Ollie, it doesn't matter. Besides, you're not my keeper."

"You weren't answering your phone, and Liv hadn't seen you, so I was worried." I insisted. She rolled her eyes. I glanced at the earrings on her dresser, recognizing them as the ones Dad brought her the last time he was in town. "Were you on a date?"

"I went to see a movie. It ran later than expected." She told me.

"Yeah? Who'd you go with?" I questioned. She shrugged. "Dani, if you're seeing someone-"

"Who I date is none of your business, Ollie!" She snapped.

"It's someone I know, right? That's why you won't tell me, right?" I demanded. She looked at me.

"Drop it." She warned me. I got up with a frustrated sigh, and headed for the door.

"Don't expect me to cover for you next time you and boyfriend are late." I grumbled before shutting the door behind me.

**Kaz's POV**

"Wow." I grinned, walking into Mighty Med, Alivia just behind me. "Check out the hero's welcome I'm getting for helping Oliver and Dani restore all the superheroes' powers yesterday."

"No one's even looking at you." The red head pointed out.

"Exactly." I looked at her, wondering how she could miss that obvious sign of respect. "That's the highest form of flattery. They feel unworthy to even set eyes on such greatness."

"Sure." She rolled her eyes as Jaime headed in our direction, apparently in a rush as she adjusted her superhero uniform. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nightstrike, bank robbery. Not much." She told her girlfriend, already opening the doors so she could leave. "By the way, Thing One and Thing Two are fighting, so have fun with that!"

"Wait, what?" I looked at her in confusion. She didn't answer, instead racing out the door to go save the tax payer's money. I looked over at the ER counters, where both Dani and Oliver were working in dead silence, occasionally sending each other annoyed looks. I leaned on the nearest counter to them, raising an eyebrow. "Okay, what's the problem?"

"Ollie's being an over-controlling brother and won't respect my privacy." Dani stated simply, not looking up from the computer she was typing on.

"You're the one keeping secrets from me!" Oliver snapped. He looked at me. "She gets home past midnight this morning, without an explanation, and expects me to cover for her with mom, while still refusing to tell me what's up."

Oh, oops. Dani and I had gone on our first actual date, since Oliver had been stuck with the late shift at Mighty Med, but after the movie we'd gone out for smoothies and lost track of the time. But of course, telling Oliver that was probably not a good idea.

"You guys shouldn't be fighting; we saved the day yesterday, and we should be celebrating." I pointed out, figuring a distraction was the best way to go. "C'mon, we were bad-asses!"

"We are pretty awesome." Dani agreed, smirking.

"I guess." Oliver also relented.

"We should document our heroism." I insisted, pulling out my phone. "C'mon."

"Fine." Oliver sighed, walking around the counter to stand beside me. Dani just hopped over the counter, sitting on top of it just behind us. I held the camera out and up, pointing it at the three of us.

"Dear future generations of people and/or cyborgs," Dani began, a smirk on her face.

"Yesterday, the world was saved from the forces of evil, and you maybe be wondering who did it." I continued.

"Well, look no further!" Oliver exclaimed. "It was yours truly, Oliver Short."

"And yours truly, Danica Short," Dani added.

"And yours truly, Kazimieras Broadman." I finished. Oliver stopped and looked at me.

"Kazimieras?" He repeated. I nodded, shrugging.

"Yeah, it's my real name. But I go by Kaz because nobody can spell Kazimieras." I explained. "Especially me. K-A-Z-I, K-A-Z-E? It's impossible!"

"I've known you since we were three, and you've never told me that." Oliver told me, a hurt expression on his face.

"Sure I have." I shrugged. Dani shook her head at me from her spot behind Oliver. "What's the big deal? There are hundreds of secrets I've never told you."

Okay, maybe not the best thing to say, especially when one of those secrets was the fact that I'm dating his sister. Dani gave me an annoyed look, while Oliver looked plain suspicious.

"Like what?" He questioned.

"Uh, like the fact that I've been stealing the meat out of your sandwiches every day for five years." I admitted.

"I wondered why my mom was always making me cheese sandwiches." Oliver hummed thoughtfully. "Sometimes it was only bread!"

"It's no big deal, man. I'll stop if you want me to." Probably not, but I'd say anything to keep him from flipping out about this.

"I thought we had a pact; we weren't supposed to keep secrets from each other!" He insisted as Skylar walked over to us. "Right, Skylar?"

"Uh, right." She agreed. "I would never keep any kind of secret from you. Shame on you, guys. Shame on you."

"Whatever." Dani shrugged. "I've got work to do."

She slid off the counter and headed towards the rec room, presumably to get some peace and quiet. Oliver watched her go. "So, is she grounded for staying out so late…" I inquired.

"No, Mom thinks she crashed at your place, Liv." He looked past me at the hero. She nodded.

"Yeah, okay." She agreed.

"I just don't get what's going on with her." He sighed. "She never keeps secrets from me, and I'm pretty sure she's seeing someone."

"Well, you guys are growing up." Alivia reasoned. "She's not going to go to about everything, Oliver. You're just going to have to accept that."

"Yeah, not likely." I muttered as Oliver scowled. I sighed as he headed back to his work. Maybe keeping Dee and I a secret wasn't such a great idea.

**Oliver's POV**

I was working in the ER with Kaz, while Dani checked over one of her patients. Alivia and Skylar were hanging around, the former trying to engage the latter in an energetic conversation about which supervillain would take over the supervillain world now that the Annihilator was in prison. She figured it would either be Dr. Wrath, Megahertz, or the mysterious Mr. Terror, but I found any of those hard to believe. Kaz, Dani, and Skylar had defeated Dr. Wrath already, Megahertz was a serious threat, but not much of a leader, and there hadn't been any new information on Mr. Terror since I was four. My money was on someone new showing up, but it was so soon after the Annihilator's arrest to tell.

Suddenly, the ER doors swung open and two nurses pushed Jaime in on a gurney. Her arm was pressed tightly to her stomach, the other one gripped it while Jaime tried to hide the pained grimace on her face. "Spark!" Alivia exclaimed, leaping to her feet and running to the gurney.

"I'm okay." The blonde girl lied through her teeth, arching her back to try and remove some of her discomfort.

"What happened?" I questioned as Dani gently took Jaime's arm, brow furrowed as she examined the arm.

"Was it Nightstrike?" Alivia demanded furiously.

"No." She sucked in a sharp breath, sending Dani a hurt glare. "Surge and Neocortex."

"What? They attacked you?" Kaz questioned. She nodded, biting her lip. "Why?"

"I think I heard Surge say something to Neocortex about the Annihilator. I think they're working for him" She replied before hissing in pain.

"Sorry." Dani apologized, gently removing her hands from Jaime's injured arm. "But that is definitely broken in at least two spots. Gonna need an x-ray to see if there's any more."

"You know what this means, right?" I looked at the others.

"That the new Neocortex movie needs a quick rewrite?" Dani guessed.

"No, both Surge and Neocortex were at Mighty Med yesterday." I reminded them. Alivia looked at me, her expression quickly turning shocked.

"You think there's a mole here." She realized. I nodded.

"One who's secretly working with the Annihilator and turning superheroes evil." It was the only explanation.

"Ugh, some people. Shame on them, shame on them." Skylar commented, shaking her head.

"I know who it is." Kaz looked at me, his eyes wide. "It's so obvious, she's standing right in front of us."

"Who?" I demanded, grabbing his shoulder. He pointed over Skylar's shoulder, at Mesmira. The hero with hypnotic abilities was standing near the ER counter, an eyepatch covering the eyeball imbedded in her hand.

"It's Mesmira. She's even wearing an eyepatch." He insisted. "The only people who wear eye patches are pirates and villains."

"And patients being treated for pink eye…hand." Dani shrugged, not really sure if she used the right term, but not particularly caring. She walked over to Mesmira and piece of paper for her. "Just give this to the pharmacist, and she'll give you your eye-hand drops."

"If it's not Mesmira, who could it be?" I asked, turning to Skylar to see if she had any ideas.

"I don't know." She replied, looking just as confused as we were.

**Xxx**

"Okay, where is Agent Blaylock?" Dani sighed, leaning back in her seat to look at Alivia. The red-head had been pacing around the rec room ever since Jaime had gone into surgery, clearly on edge about all of this. "Didn't you call him, like, an hour ago?'

"I have no idea what's taking him so long." Alivia muttered, her tone clipped.

"Hey, relax." I told her gently. "Jaime's okay, and we're going to figure this out."

"Yeah, we don't need Agent Blaylock." Kaz agreed, dragging a massive whiteboard towards us. On it, there were twenty or so photos of superheroes.

"Now, here are all the superheroes who were turned evil whose powers were in the Annihilator's lair." To my dismay, there were quite a few in that list, including Surge. "These are the heroes who turned evil after being recently treated at Mighty Med." Once again, there were far too many heroes on that list for my liking. "And these are the superheroes who owe me money."

"Dude, you loaned money to High Roller?" I demanded. "He's got a huge gambling problem. He's never going to pay you back!"

"He better." Kaz frowned. "This white board was expensive."

I shook my head at him, then opened my backpack and pulled out the book I'd bought over break. "What's that?" Dani questioned, frowning.

"The Beginner's Guide to Turning Superheroes Evil." I read the title out loud before handing it to her. "I thought it might give us some insight."

"Hey, Crimson Demon wrote a review." Dani chuckled, reading it. "'A must read. Seriously, read this or I'll burn your face off.' Cool."

Suddenly, Agent Blaylock ran into the room, phasing through the wall near the whiteboard. He was panting heavily as he slowed to a stop, completely out of breath. "Agent Blaylock!" Alivia looked relieved to have an authority figure finally show up, especially one from the Secret Superhero Service Division. "Why are you so winded?"

"I ran all the way here from my office!" He gasped, his breathing beginning to slow.

"How far is your office?" Dani demanded, shocked.

"On the other side of that wall." He jerked his thumb at the wall he'd walked through. "But the floor slopes uphill a little, and I had pancaked for lunch and…I don't have to explain myself to you! Now, what do you need?"

"Superheroes are turning evil-" Alivia began, but he cut her off.

"That's what you called me here for? Do you think I'm not aware of that? We've had fourteen heroes turn evil, the first being Tecton, and you reported him yesterday." The larger man snapped. "I'm already on it. You four stay out of this."

"But sir-" Alivia tried to protest, but he shut her down.

"Geminus, your orders are to let me handle this. Follow them." He instructed. "Now, I have to go all the way back to my office. Luckily, it's all downhill on the way back."

Without another word, he disappeared through the wall. Alivia watched him go, upset.

"That's it?" She demanded, infuriated.

"Liv-" Dani began in an attempt to calm her down, but she shook her head furiously.

"No!" She snapped, glaring at the wall. "Someone is attacking superheroes turning them evil, and he won't let us help stop them? That's…that's…" She let out a frustrated sigh. "They're attacking superheroes, alright, and at a much personal level than usual. I can't just stand back and watch this happen. These guys are my friends, my brothers and sisters in arms. I'm not lie back and let Blaylock handle this."

"Alright, good. Neither are we. But if you get all upset, you're not going to be focused." My sister insisted, looking at her best friend. "So take a breath, and think, okay?"

"Wait." Suddenly, something occurred to me. "I just figured out who the mole is. Who at Mighty Med has the strong motive to betray the superhero world?"

"No idea." "I give up." Dani and Kaz replied at the same time.

"You didn't even try!" I accused. Both of them just shrugged, neither of them denying it. "It's Alan."

"What? No way!" Alivia shook her head. "I know he's a bit of a prick-"

"A bit?" Dani interrupted.

"Okay, he's a complete prick, but he's not evil." The Irish girl insisted.

"Think about it. Who is totally power hungry, and who brought the Dyad of Nebulan to Wallace and Clyde?'

"I give up." "No idea." Dani and Kaz once again commented in unision.

"ALAN!" I snapped. "You guys are terrible at this!"

"Wait, no." Kaz looked at me, carefully considering what I had said. "It can't be possibly be Alan. He doesn't wear an eyepatch."

"He's not a mole, Ollie." Dani agreed. Suddenly, the door behind us burst open and Alan ran in. His nose, for whatever reason, was now a snout, with long whiskers poking out from it.

"I'm a mole!" He cried in distress. We all looked at him.

"What the heck?" Kaz demanded.

"Skylar scared me in the cafeteria and I turned partway into a mole." He explained. "By the way, be careful by the cafeteria. I made a mole hill, then I made a mountain out of it."

"Okay, that proves nothing." Dani insisted.

"Oh, and check out what Mesmira gave me." Alan grinned, pulling an eyepatch out of his pocket. Much to my disgust, he put it over his left eye, beaming,

"Okay, scratch that. That proves it." Dani relented, staring at him.

**Xxx**

"I'm telling you, I'm not the mole!" Alan pleaded with us. We'd managed to get him locked in the rec room and seated at one of those cool interrogation tables. "I'm innocent!"

"If you're so innocent, why are you squirming so much?" Dani questioned, leaning in closer. While Kaz, still not believing that Alan was responsible for all the heroes turning evil, my sister was actually enjoying playing detective. I blamed it on far too many  _Castle_  binges, but hey, if she thought she could get a confession out of him, I was happy to let her try.

"Because there's a spotlight in my face!" The black-haired boy retorted, gesturing at Spotlight. When the light manipulating hero had heard that Alan could be a mole, he'd been all too happy to help us interrogate him. Not only did he feel as strongly as Liv did about what the Annihilator was having his new ally do, but Surge had been his best friend for years up until the electrokinetic had turned evil.

"Spotlight?" Dani glanced over her shoulder and the older boy lowered his hand, turning off his light. She turned back to Alan, pushing the hair from her face. "We're going to get truth out of you eventually. There's no use keeping secrets."

I scoffed. "Funny you should be talking about not keeping secrets, Dee." I muttered. Kaz gave me an exhausted look.

"Dude, lay off." He told me.

"You're coming to her defense a lot lately, Kazimieras." I accused, annoyed. "If that is my real name."

"It is my real name." Kaz retorted, annoyed. Spotlight sighed audibly.

"Alright, you're being too soft on him. Let me handle this." He told Dani, gently pushing her away. She shrugged and stepped back to lean on the refrigerator, her shoulders brushing both mine and Kaz's. Spotlight turned him attention onto Alan. "Alright, punk. We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way."

He went to pull a chain out from under the table, but the arms were too high, and got caught under the table. He pulled at it again, quickly getting frustrated with it. Eventually, after much struggle, he managed to remove the chair. "I'm guessing that was the hard way?" Alan joked. Spotlight didn't answer, instead spinning the chair around and dropped himself into it.

There was a distinct ripping sound as he lowered himself into it, and a tear in the back of his pants formed, revealing the orange boxers underneath. "Did you just rip your pants?" Alivia asked, hands reaching up to her mouth.

"More importantly, are you wearing Solar Flare themed boxers?" Dani added.

"…No." He lied, clearly embarrassed. Alivia sat on the table, about to help her fellow superhero interrogate Alan, but before she could say anything, Agent Blaylock burst in, walking through the still closed and locked doors to the ER.

"I know who the mole is!" He announced. "I searched every nook and cranny in this hospital. And also on this English muffin." He took a bite of the treat, smiling to himself. "Mmm-mm-mm! Mmm!"

"I already know who the mole is." I told him, exasperated. Alivia was right; he should have just let us help.

"Of course you do, because it's you!" He pointed at me accusingly. I pushed myself off the fridge, absolutely stunned that he would say that to me.

"What?" I questioned. Everyone turned to look at me, different emotions on all of their faces. Dani and Kaz looked just plain confused for their part, Alivia and Alan were both frowning, and Spotlight had his eyebrows furrowed, thinking.

"You're working with the Annihilator?" He questioned. I shook my head.

"What, no!" I retorted. He didn't look convinced. "I swear, I'm not the mole!"

"I know it's you, Oliver." Blaylock accused me. "I searched every locker in Mighty Med, and guess what I found in yours?"

"I give up." "No idea." Again, Kaz and Dani proved how absolutely useless they were at trying to help.

"You didn't even try!" Blaylock exclaimed before pulling out a strange device out of his pocket. It looked like an injector of some sort, with green liquid in vials that were attached to it, but I had no idea what it was really for. "I found this device. You use this to turn superheroes evil."  
"That's not mine." I told him, dead serious.

"Then how'd it get in your locker?" Alivia asked softly, looking at me. I could see the conflict on her face, my friend torn between believing me, and believing one of the heroes she'd been taught to listen to her whole life.

"I have no idea. Someone must be trying to frame me!" I insisted, trying to think. The only people who knew my locker combination were Kaz and Dani (they'd read it in my journal the last time they stole it), Alivia (I'd asked her to grab me a book from it one time) and Skylar (because how could I ever not trust her?), but none of them would ever betray me like this.

"Then why did I also find this? The Beginner's Guide to Turning Superheroes Evil." Blaylock held up my book.

"That is my book, but I was reading it to figure out who the mole is." I explained. Blaylock didn't believe me for a second.

"Alan wasn't even in Mighty Med when the crimes occurred, and he's not smart enough to have done this." He told me. "The boy is dumb as dirt."

"Thank you." Alan smiled, glad that someone believed him to be innocent. Then he frowned. "Hey!"  
"And how do you explain this confession signed by you?" Blaylock held up a slip of paper. Dani snatched it out of his hands so she and Kaz could examine it.

"Hold on, this isn't my brother's handwriting." She looked at Blaylock. Kaz nodded.

"Whoever wrote this dotted the 'i's with hearts. Oliver dots his 'i's with stars." He agreed.

"Yeah, because stars are cool." I explained, almost chuckling at Alivia's bemused expression. "Hearts are for girls."

"Right." She agreed sarcastically. She reached for the paper. Dani handed it to her, and the red head looked it over with a careful eye. "Oliver's right." She announced after a moment, looking at Blaylock as if she expected him to argue with her. "Someone did plant this stuff in his locker."

"Please, just give us some time to clear his name." Dani pleaded with the agent. Kaz nodded, looking just as desperate as she did. Blaylock looked at my friends, considering it.

"I'll tell you what." He said after a long moment. "Since it's time for my end-of-the-day nap, I'll give you till I wake up. So you have 12 hours."

"Thank you." Kaz told him. Blaylock turned to leave, then pointed at Spotlight.

"Keep an eye on him." He ordered.

"Yes sir." Spotlight agreed readily, giving me a suspicious look. Blaylock nodded and left.

"So, where do we start?" Alivia questioned, looking at us.

**Kaz's POV**

"No! Absolutely not!" Alivia practically shouted, glaring daggers at us.

"Gem…" Spotlight tried to intervene, but she was having none of it.

"No! No!" She looked at us. "No. That's final."

"Geminus." Dani cleared her throat. "Look, the mole is targeting injured superheroes in the hospital, and Spark is the only one we have at the moment."

"You are not using my girlfriend as bait!" Alivia snapped.

"Look, she's already going to be a target, especially since, with her healing, her arm's going to be fine in a couple of days." I reasoned. "So, either way, she's in danger. At least this way, we can use it to catch the traitor in the act, and prove Oliver innocent."

"If everything goes as planned, Spark will be perfectly fine." Oliver agreed.

"IF everything goes as planned, which, when it comes to you three, it never does." She pointed out.

"Yeah, but I'm here. It's not like it'll just be a bunch of Normos." Spotlight added. "And you, as many of you as you'd like, will have eyes on her. It'll be fine."

Alivia hesitated, obviously hating the plan, but aware of its logic. She looked pointedly at me, as this was my idea. "If anything goes wrong, you're dead to me."

"Yes m'am." I agreed. She let out a frustrated sigh.

"Let's get this over with." She muttered, stalking past us. I grimaced, feeling the anger and frustration radiate off her. I couldn't blame her – if I'd be in her shoes, there's no way I'd ever agree to it.

"Okay, so we'll set up a camera, and we'll videotape the mole trying to turn her evil." Dani decided, pulling out her phone. "On the counter, you think?"

"Yeah, but don't make it obvious." Oliver added.

"Kay." She agreed, heading over to the ER counter while Kaz, Spotlight, and I approached Jaime. She was lying in one of the beds in the ER, Alivia sitting on the side of it. Judging by the expression on her face, Alivia had told her the plan and she didn't like it.

"This is not a good plan." Jaime, always straight to the point. "It's way too dangerous, and I'm not okay with it."

"We figured you'd say that." Oliver sighed. He gave Alivia a pointed look, and she stepped back, her jaw tight. "And you're way too important to us for us to risk-" While she was distracted, Oliver grabbed a mask off a nearby cart, and forced it over her mouth. I flicked on the gas the moment he did, and it worked almost instantly, Jaime falling unconscious in seconds. "Wow, that really knocked her out."

"Yeah, what's in there? Geometry?" I joked, smirking at Alivia in an attempt to put her mind at ease, while Dani gently restrained Jaime. We wanted her to look as helpless as possible to get the mole to reveal themselves.

"Now, we just need to get everyone else out of here." Spotlight reminded us.

"I got this." Oliver told us, before clearing his throat and turning to the bustling nurses and busy doctors throughout the room. "Attention! Everyone, clear the area! A toxic chemical may have been released accidentally."

Not a single person reacted to this news, all of them carrying on as if they hadn't heard them. "This is how it's done, Ollie-pop." Dani commented teasingly, before saying very loudly, "Attention! Everyone, there is white cheddar cheese popcorn in the break room!"

In seconds, the room had cleared, everyone wanted a handful of the non-existent white cheddar popcorn. We all followed them out into the hall, making sure no one else came our way.

"I hope this works. This is my only chance to clear my name." Oliver mumbled. "Which, by the way, is Oliver. Because unlike you, I don't keep secrets."

"Okay, why are you giving us such a hard time about this?" I demanded. "There are plenty of things that you haven't told us."

"Like what?" Oliver challenged.

"Like the fact that you're afraid of elbows." Dani accused.

"They're so wrinkly!" Her brother snapped defensively. "And how do you know that?"

"We read it in your feelings journal." I replied. He looked at us, annoyed.

"That stuff is supposed to be secret!" He exclaimed.

"Aha! See? I thought friends weren't supposed to keep secrets from each other." I pointed out. "That's why I read your feelings journal, to keep you from being a bad friend."

Oliver opened his mouth to object, but couldn't think of a way to do so. "How did I end up losing this argument?"

Dani laughed in amusement, giving me a high-five. And if our hands clasped together for a moment too long, Oliver didn't notice. "Stop! It's not funny! Stop it."

Suddenly, we heard strange noises coming from the ER. Alivia raced ahead of us, but froze in the doorway. "No."

Jaime was the only one in the room, but the girl was awake, and clearly not happy. But not the usual, I-can-not-believe-you-knocked-me-out unhappiness, but the I-am-going-to-end-your-life unhappiness. She was glaring at us with pure hatred in her eyes, the gold accents of her uniform having turned white while we were gone. She was evil, just like Surge, and Tecton, and Neocortex. "No." Alivia's fists tightened. "You promised!"

"Once we find out who the mole is, we can force them to reverse this!" Kaz insisted. Dani raced past him to grab her phone off the counter. She replayed the video, her brown furrowing in confusion. "Who is it?"

"Uh…Ollie?" She held out the phone to us for us to see. The video showed Oliver's face in front of the camera, smirking.

" _You may be wondering who turned Spark evil. Well, look no further!"_  He announced pleasantly. " _It was yours truly, Oliver!"_

"What?" Spotlight frowned. "But you were with us the entire time."

"It was you!" Alan exclaimed. We turned to see the shapeshifter standing behind us, eyes locked on Dani's phone screen. "I solved the crime!"

"Alan, no!" Dani shook her head at him, but he was too caught up in his 'success' to care.

"See? I'm not as dumb as dirt! Dirt couldn't have figured this out!" He exclaimed. "I'm going to go tell Agent Blaylock."

"Alan! Don't!" Oliver pleaded with him. "I'm innocent!"

But the kid was already racing down the hall, towards the rec room, where he could use the emergency call system to have my best friend arrested. Oliver, Dani, Spotlight, and I tore after him, trying to catch him before he could get to him. Thankfully, not only was Spotlight fairly athletic, but he also had ridiculously long legs, and was able to catch up with him in no time.

"Hold on, little man." He grabbed Alan by the shoulders and pinned him to the wall. He wasn't careful or gentle, sure, but he wasn't particularly rough with the kid either. "You're not going to go tell anyone anything."

"Why not?" Alan retorted, struggling to get away.

"Because, Spark is now evil, and I know it wasn't Oliver fault, and accusing him of something like this is only going to make things harder for everyone, especially Geminus, who I know you actually like." Spotlight tightened his grip a bit. "So, because she's your only friend – and don't deny it, we all know she's the only person nice to you in the whole superhero world – you're going to come with me back to the ER and help me deal with Spark for her. And then you're going to keep your mouth shut until we find the real mole, got it?"

Alan hesitated. "I'm not helping you with anything." He mumbled, but the moment Spotlight let him go, he headed back in the direction of the ER.

"Need any help?" Dani offered to Spotlight as we watched Alan walk away. The older boy shook his head.

"Nah, I got this. But you guys need to figure out who this mole is, and how to fix Spark." He ordered.

"On it." I agreed. He walked away, heading towards the ER.

"How did the mole get past us?" Dani questioned. "No one could have gotten into the ER without us knowing."

"I don't know." Oliver sighed. He looked defeated.

"Hey," I patted him on the shoulder, "we have a few more hours before Blaylock comes for you. We'll figure it out."

"How?" He questioned. I thought about it.

"We'll go back to my whiteboard and narrow down our options. I mean, if Tecton was the first hero turned evil-"

"He was the first we know about." Dani corrected. I nodded.

"Yeah, but every hero that was turned after that is a victim, just like Spark. We should be able to eliminate most of the possibilities, and then we'll interrogate whoever's left until we know for sure." I suggested. They both looked at me.

"That was a very good plan, Kaz." Oliver commented, almost sounded suspicious. I didn't blame him; it was weird to hear those words come out of my mouth. But hey, the Annihilator's mole went after Jaime and hurt Alivia; no one gets to do that to my friends.

"C'mon." I led them towards the rec room. To my surprise, we could hear Blaylock's voice coming from inside.

"You planted that evidence in Oliver's locker to frame him!" He accused. We all looked at each other, wide eyed. Had Blaylock actually found the mole?

We raced towards the door, then, realizing that it could be dangerous to just burst in, Dani slowly pushed the door open a crack. It wasn't big enough for us to be seen, but just large enough for us to see who Agent Blaylock was accusing of being the spy. And man, were we in for a surprise.

"No…" Oliver's heart broke with that single word, his eyes unable to leave the scene before us. I was frozen in shock, while Dani's hands had flown up to her mouth, clamped over it as she stared in horror.

"Well, you got me. I'm the mole." Skylar, our Skylar Storm, rolled her eyes, not amused. "Aren't you the clever one?"

"Actually, my older brother is the clever one. He went to MIT." Blaylock retorted. "I'm just a glorified security guard."

"Too bad I'm going to have to destroy all evidence that points back to me." Skylar continued.

"You think you're going to get away with this?" Blaylock questioned. Some part of my mind begged Skylar to laugh and say it was some sort of joke, or that she was trying to track down the mole herself, but she simply smirked arrogantly.

"You'll never stop me and the Annihilator. Especially if you keep taking 12-hour naps." She told him, her tone cocky. "And if you're a statue."

"Of course I couldn't stop you if I were a statue. That's obvious." Blaylock sounded so confused. "Why would you even use an example like that?"

"Don't." Dani breathed, obviously seeing where this was going. "Skylar, don't."

"You're about to turn me into a statue, aren't you?" Blaylock realized, but it was too late. I think all three of us stopped breathing the moment Skylar raised her right hand, an icy cold look in her eyes, and turned him to stone. She didn't even spare him a second glance before creating a space portal and walking away.

"Oh my gosh." Dani looked at me, her eyes as wide as saucers. "I can't believe it. Skylar's the mole."

"No. No." Oliver shook his head, obviously in denial. "No, this is just some bad dream, and I'm going to wake up from it any second."

"I don't think so, man." I told him gently, seeing the absolute shock in his eyes. None of us saw this coming, least of all him.

"Ollie." Dani took her brother's hand, a worried look on her face.

"What do we do?" His voice was rough. I didn't like it, but I had the answer.

'We have to tell the League of Heroes that Skylar is working with the Annihilator." I stated. I started towards the emergency call system, but Oliver stopped me.

"We can't." He insisted. "For all we know, she's already turned the entire League evil. We don't know who we can trust anymore."

We were all quiet for a long time, letting that sink in. Skylar was evil, possibly everyone we could to for help was already working with her, and we were on our own.


	4. The Claw Prank Redemption

**Kaz's POV**

"I can't believe Skylar's evil."

I swear, since we'd discovered our friend's secret, that phrase had become Oliver's catchphrase. It had been less than fourteen hours, and I think he called me at least two dozen times throughout the night so that he'd have someone to despair to. And now, here we were, at school, and he still couldn't wrap his mind around it.

"I-" He went to say it again as we walked into the school, but Dani let out a frustrated noise and clamped her hand over his mouth.

"Can't believe Skylar's evil, we know." She said coolly before removing her hand. I gave him a look.

"I couldn't sleep at all last night after finding out that she's evil now." I complained. "Mostly because you kept calling me every five minutes to remind me that she was."

"At least you could turn your phone off. He kept knocking on the wall between our bedrooms every five minutes, and that's something pretty damn hard to ignore." Dani grumbled. She was about to say something more, but instead she paused, a surprised look on her face. "Hey Alan."

I turned around to see Alan standing behind us, looking around the school curiously. He had a backpack slung over his shoulder, and I was pretty sure he was wearing a new sweater vest. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, since I'm half-Normo, I figured I'd go to school to embrace my Normo roots." He explained. We all exchanged uneasy looks. "I bet I'll be the most popular kid here, if I can keep my temper somewhat in check."

I scoffed. "You'll never be able to keep your temper in check."

"I SAID SOMEWHAT IN CHECK!" He snapped at me. "I also spent the weekend watching high school movies for research so I've got this whole thing figured out. Now, what time do the students break into song and dance for no apparent reason?"

I frowned, wondering where he would have gotten that idea, then I turned to Dani, raising an eyebrow. "Well, it's not like you guys will watch those movies with me!" She defended herself, face going red a bit.

"Alan, that doesn't happen in real high school." Oliver told him, just as Gus and a few students from the glee club walked out onto the stair landing.

"We're Logan High, we are the Lancers! Put down the book, and join us dancers!" They sang, dancing down the stairs and leading a group of followers into a nearby hallway. We all stared at them in surprise.

"I told you those movies were real!" Dani exclaimed, beaming at her brother. Alan smirked snidely at us.

"And you wonder why you're not popular." He commented before racing after them. "Hey, wait for me!"

"Hey, class is going to start in ten minutes." Oliver commented, looking around. "And I still don't see our favorite red-head."

"She's still not answering my calls." Dani worried. "If she's not here by second period, I'm going to go look for her."

"Good idea." I agreed, a little worried about her. We'd gone to find her after the whole Skylar thing, but she'd already left the hospital, and after what happened to Jaime, we were all a little concerned that the Irish girl would do something reckless.

"So what are we gonna do about Skylar?" Dani eventually questioned. Oliver sighed.

"I don't know, but we cannot let her find out that we know she's evil, or we'll end up as statues like Blaylock.'

"No, I cannot become a statue." I agreed quickly. "You know I get antsy if I stand around in one spot for too long."

"Hey, guys." We all jumped at least a foot in the air, shocked to find that Skylar had snuck up on us.

"Skylar!" Oliver laughed nervously. "I'm surprised to see you at school now they have your powers back and can fight for life, liberty and justice. But mostly life."

"Oh, I just have a few things here that I need to tie up." The Calderan explained with a wave of her hand. I looked at her, horrified.

"Like hostages?" I demanded. She frowned at me.

"Ignore him; he's just tired." Dani excused my behavior for me. Skylar shrugged it off, thankfully.

"Actually, there's something that I need to do." She replied. She looked at us, well mainly Oliver, seriously. "This is really hard for me-"

"Then don't do it." Oliver interrupted her. "That's always the best policy. In fact, if I had a sneaker company, that would be its slogan. 'Just Don't Do It'."

"My God." Dani muttered under her breath. Man, Oliver needed to get better at this.

"But if I don't do it now, then I never will." Skylar took a deep breath. Oliver winced, readying himself. 'Oliver, would you like to go to the school dance with me tonight?"

Well, I'm fairly certain that none of us expected that to come out of her mouth. Dani and I stared at her in absolute shock, while Oliver's wince fell into a smile.

"Of course, I would love to go to the dance with you." He replied cheerfully. Skylar beamed at him.

"Great! This dance is going to be so much fun!" She exclaimed. "I'm going to go pick up my dress. When you see it, you are going to die!"

She skipped away cheerfully, pleased with herself. Meanwhile, Dani and I turned to Oliver.

"Have you lost your mind?" Dani demanded, staring at him.

"You can't go to the dance with Skylar!" I exclaimed. "You might as well go with Megahertz."

"First of all, Megahertz wouldn't look nearly as good in a party dress." Oliver told us, dead serious. "And second, he didn't invite me; Skylar did."

"You're letting your feelings for Skylar cloud your judgement." Dani stated harshly.

"Actually, I'm starting to think Skylar isn't a villain after all." Oliver retorted defensively. Okay, yeah. He's definitely lost his mind.

"She turned Agent Blaylock to stone. She turned Jaime evil." Dani frowned, trying to follow her brother's train of thought and failing to do so.

"Yeah, but for all we know, Agent Blaylock could have been evil, and she was just trying to stop him. As for Jaime, we didn't actually see her even go near her so…" He shrugged. "Besides, if Skylar was evil, why didn't she just explode me on the spot instead of inviting me to the dance?"

"Skylar probably didn't want to raise suspicion. And besides, Skylar asking you to the dance is the biggest proof yet that she's a villain. A pretty girl asking you on a date? You? Does that really make sense to you?"

"I'll have you know that I've been called 'unconventionally handsome' before." Oliver retorted, offended. Dani looked at him.

"Yeah, by Mom." She pointed out.

"Who said it is not important!" Oliver snapped. "Look, I know Skylar better than anyone, and I'm telling you, she's not evil. I can sense it."

"You can sense it?" Dani questioned incredulously.

"No, no. It's fine." I assured her before looking at Oliver. "I'll just have to prove you wrong."

"How?" Oliver questioned.

"I'm gonna go down to Mighty Max, spy on the Annihilator, and get proof that Skylar is evil." I decided, smirking. Oh, this was going to be fun.

"And how do you plan on getting into Mighty Max?" Oliver inquired. Dani nodded.

"They tightened security like crazy, Kaz." She agreed. "And you can't tell anyone why you're going, because we don't know who we can trust."

"Don't worry." I smirked charmingly at her. "I've already figured out a way in."

**Xxx**

"Well, this is a terrible idea." Dani commented, crossing her arms. I glanced down at my outfit – a long black coat and a black mask.

"Well, I think it's a great idea." I replied, adjusting my jacket. I glanced at her. "You going to the dance?"

"Someone's got to keep an eye on Ollie." She sighed. I smirked.

"You wearing a dress?" I asked. Dani was practically allergic to them, but then again, it was a dance…

"Maybe. You'll just have to show up to find out." She smirked at me seductively before glancing her phone. "Oh, crap. I've gotta go or I'm going to miss second period too."

"I'll see you later, then." I told her as she walked away. She sent me a smile over her shoulder as she left. I took a deep breath, smiled to myself, and stepped out into a hallway full of busy nurses and doctors. "Listen up everyone! I'm the villain uh No-Name and I'm here to destroy you all and there's no way I can be stopped!"

Philip looked at me. "Stop." He said simply.

"Okay, I give up." I replied, holding out my hands. Philip put my hands in handcuffs, then looked at me, one hand reaching behind his back.

"Why are you so shocked?" He questioned. I frowned, confused.

"I'm not shocked." I replied. He smirked, and suddenly, and blast of electricity flew through my system, every muscle in my body locking up at once. I groaned, feeling the lighting course through my body. Trust me, it wasn't pleasant.

"You are now." He smirked, tazing me again before I could recover from the first hit. "I love my new job."

**Xxx**

"Hey, since I'm super evil, you should probably lock me up with someone who's just as evil as I am." I commented as Philip led me through Mighty Max. "Like the Annihilator. That would really teach me a lesson."

"Well, if that would make you happy…" Philip trailed off, before smirking. "Then forget it!"

I sighed audibly, though I already knew it wouldn't work. "Get in there." He told me, pushing me into a large cell with two tall men already inside. I stumbled as he pushed me, just as the men turned around to face me.

"Well, well, well." I paled, recognizing both Wallace and Clyde. No! This wouldn't work if thet recognized me! "Seems like we have ourselves a new roommate."

"Wait, you look familiar." Wallace hummed. "Do we know you from somewhere?"

"Um…" I froze.

"Let's play Villain Geography." Clyde suggested. "Where did you go to camp?"

"Uh you don't know me." I lied. "I'm the villain, No-Name. Not a teenage boy you'd see just about every day at a comic book store."

"Huh." They seemed to buy it. Wallace frowned at me. "So what are you in for?"

"Whatever would scare you the most, that's what I did!" I replied quickly. Their eyes widened.

"You tore one of those 'do not remove' tags off a mattress?!" They gasped. I nodded, going with it.

"Ripped it right off!" I shouted proudly.

"You monster!" "Please don't hurt us!" They cried.

"Fine, I won't hurt you, if you tell me everything you've heard in here about the Annihilator." I added the last bit, trying to sound threatening. They nodded quickly.

"Okay, we overheard him in the cafeteria." Wallace told us. Clyde scowled bitterly.

"Of course, he sits at the cool villains' table." He added. Wallace ignored him.

"Anyway, he's working with someone in Mighty Med and you're never gonna guess who." Wallace continued.

"Who?" I questioned, already suspecting the answer. And, of course, I was right.

"Skylar Storm." Clyde told me. Wallace smacked him in the arm.

"I was talking to him!" He snapped. Clyde glared at him.

"This is why we don't sit at the cool table."

**Oliver's POV**

"Oh, hey, Skylar." I grinned as the said girl walked up to me. "I was thinking we should arrive at the dance looking cool, so I asked my mom drive us in the nice minivan."

"I'm way ahead of you." Skylar told me, smiling prettily. "I ordered us a stretch limo."

"Really? Awesome!" I grinned. "My mom will be disappointed, but, awesome!"

"What do you think?" Skylar asked me, showing me a picture of her limo. I stared at it, recognizing it as a funeral hearse. "Fancy, huh?"

"That's a hearse," I told her. She looked at me, not sure what the problem was. "For a funeral," I added. Still, she gave me that confused look. "For dead people."

"I don't think so." She replied, looking back at the picture. "See? In the back, there's a disco ball."

"That's a bone saw." I stated. She looked back at the photo.

"Huh." She shrugged. "Anyway, I thought we'd go out to dinner first."

"Sure, sounds great." I replied, trying to shake the photo of the hearse out of my mind. Skylar nodded, smiling.

"What would you pick to eat if you could only have one last meal, because you knew that it was your final night on Earth?" She questioned. I gulped, staring at her. Thankfully, my sister came to my rescue.

"Ollie?" She stepped out of school, one hand holding her phone to chest. "Sorry guys, but I kinda need to borrow my brother for a minute?"

"Yeah, sure." I readily agreed. I sent Skylar an apologetic look before following my sister into the school. "Thanks."

"No problem." She told me. She glanced out the window to make sure Skylar wasn't able to hear us, then held out the phone. "Alright Kaz, I got him."

"Oliver?" My best friend's voice came from the phone. "Okay, I only got one phone call and it can only last three minutes. I was wrong about Skylar. She isn't going to kill us."

"Thank goodness." I sighed in relief. "I was starting to think you guys were right."

"Let him finish." Dani advised me.

"Turns out she's only gonna kill you." Kaz added. "Tonight, at the dance."

I froze, shocked. Not only was Skylar evil, but she was specifically targeting me? "I don't understand.  
Why is Skylar gonna destroy me and not you? I pretend to listen to her feelings for hours!"

"Maybe the Annihilator thinks that if we all end up dead, it will look too suspicious." Dani suggested thoughtfully. "So I guess he's going after you."

"Hey, buddy, don't feel left out." A voice in the background said.

"Yeah, you're gonna be blown to bits when the Annihilator completely wipes out the entire city on Sunday." A third voice agreed.

"Sunday? Why not Monday?" The second voice questioned.

"Yeah, no one likes Mondays." The third voice commented. Dani and I frowned.

"Kaz, was that Wallace and Clyde?" My sister questioned.

"Yeah, long story." He replied.

"There's got to be something we could do." I worried.

"Well, my sources tell me there is one way to stop Skylar and that's with true love's kiss." Kaz told me. "And since you truly love her, that means a kiss from you."

I froze, caught off guard. "What? Are you saying that if I kiss Skylar, it will break the Annihilator's spell and make her not evil?"

On one hand, I wanted my first kiss with Skylar to be special, and this sure wasn't. But on the other hand, this might be my only chance to ever kiss Skylar, so…

"No. That's crazy." Of course Kaz had to burst my bubble. "I'm saying that if you kiss her, she'll die."

"What?" Dani questioned, eyebrows raising in surprise.

"No, no, no." I shook my head, refusing the idea on the spot. "There's got to be some other way."

Kaz paused. "Is there any other way?" He asked, his voice sounding muffled, as if his hand was over the phone. A second later, his voice cleared. "Afraid not."

"C'mon." Dani sighed.

"Look, man…you have to do it, or she'll destroy the city and take out millions of people." Kaz told me. There was a reluctant edge to his voice, but it was clear and without hesitation. "You're the only one in the position to stop her."

"You don't have a choice, Ollie." Dani looked at me, eyes wide. I gulped back the lump in my throat, then nodded slowly.

"I guess you're right." I agreed, despite myself. This was the last thing I wanted to do, but I had to do it.

**Kaz's POV**

"If it makes you feel any better, if you ever kissed Skylar, she'd probably die of embarrassment anyway." I said over the phone to Oliver, trying to make him feel better. This was a no-win situation; either we lose our friend, or the world gets destroyed. Neither option was favorable, but we had to do what we had to do.

"Yeah, okay." I heard Oliver sigh. There was a long pause before Dani came back onto the phone.

"Get back here, please?" She requested. "If Skylar really…Ollie's gonna need us."

"Yeah, I'll get out as soon as I can." I promised her, just as my three minutes ended.

"Huh." Wallace hummed thoughtfully from behind me. "Uh, yeah, you know, hearing you repeat that true love's kiss thing out loud, I think we're misremembering something."

"Yeah, the Annihilator didn't say that." Clyde agreed. "That was the plot of Sleeping Beauty."

"Well, no biggie." Wallace shrugged. I stared at them.

"What?! Yes biggie!" I insisted.

"Fine." Clyde sighed, thinking. "The Annihilator said that he gave Skylar the ability to drain the life force out of people with her mouth."

I stared at them, mind racing. "So if she kisses your friend, your friend will die." Wallace confirmed it. "How did we confuse that with Sleeping Beauty?"

"Wake with a kiss, die with a kiss." Clyde shrugged. "They're kind of similar."

"They're very similar." Wallace agreed. I shook my head at them, then jumped to my feet and ran to the edge of the cell. Philip stood guard outside, clutching his weapon tightly.

"Philip, I need to make another phone call." I told him desperately. I needed to warn Oliver before it was too late. Philip just rolled his eyes.

"Oh, I've heard that one before." He replied.

"It's true!" Wallace agreed.

"We also needed to make another phone call." Clyde added loudly from behind me. I ignored him.

"No, you don't understand. I'm not actually a villain." I pleaded with him. "It's me, Kaz."

"Oh, I've heard that one before." Philip sounded bored now.

"It's true." Clyde agreed.

"We also said that we were Kaz." Wallace added. I groaned in frustration. I needed to get out of here.

**Skylar's POV**

Dinner was a bad idea, I realized much later. I don't know why I suggested it – maybe because I felt bad about what I was about to do to Oliver and I wanted his last night to be special – I even spent a hundred bucks on this dress, one I would probably never wear again – but the entire night was awkward and weird. For me, at least. I don't know about him.

So when he disappeared the second we entered the school gym, with the excuse of checking in with his sister who'd come without a date, I hardly objected to it. But after about twenty minutes, I knew I had to go back and find him.

When I found them, they were clearly arguing about something, but purposefully keeping their voices low. Though I couldn't quite hear what they were saying – the number of people in the gym made it hard to focus my super hearing – it was clear that Dani was telling him something he didn't like. "Hey guys," I greeted, walking up to them. They both stopped their discussion immediately, watching me like hawks.

"Hey…" They greeted.

"Where's Kaz?" I inquired, looking around. It was already going to be difficult enough to take Oliver out, but Dani's presence would make it impossible. I looked around for the black-haired boy, knowing that he was usually a fairly good distraction for the girl.

"I don't know. I'm going to go find him." Dani put her hand on her brother's arm. "See you later?"

"Yeah." He mumbled, watching her go. He glanced at me, sent me a quick smile, then grabbed a plastic cup and filled it with punch. "Want some?"

"Sure." I took it from him, sipping at it. I could feel butterflies in my stomach, but not because of the date, but because this was the last place I wanted to be. I knew that I was evil, but I didn't want Oliver to die. I love him…like a friend, I thought. I didn't want there to be any confusion in case anyone here can read my mind. And if there is, I want them to know that I'm not evil.

"Uh, Skylar?" Oliver cleared his throat, looking at me. "Listen…Things are gonna be different now that you have your powers back, and I just want you to know that whatever happens I'll never forget you."

I smiled and hoped that Oliver couldn't see how bittersweet it was. "I won't forget you either."

And suddenly, I just couldn't do this. Because he was Oliver and he was kind and sweet and naïve and he completely trusted me, and no matter how evil I was, I just couldn't do this if there was another option. "Uh, would you excuse me? I think I need to go sit down…on a toilet."

I didn't wait to see if he had believed my excuse, instead heading into the girl's washroom. After making sure the coast was clear, I created wormhole and stepped through it, landing in the Annihilator's lair at Mighty Max. He looked surprised to see me back here so soon, but didn't comment on it. "Is it done? Did you finish off Oliver?"

"What, no 'hello'? No 'how was the dance'?" I questioned. Just because he was evil didn't mean he had to be rude. "Listen, I've been thinking. Oliver's not a threat to us, so I don't need to get rid of him."

"I gave you an order!" The Annihilator snapped. I looked at him.

"But Oliver doesn't know anything." I insisted. "He's not dangerous. Except when he dances. Arms everywhere!"

"Those three keep interfering with my plans," He started. I cut him off.

"Why Oliver? Even if he found out about us, he's not able to do anything. Kaz and Dani, they're the reckless ones, they're the ones that would start a fight. I can take one of them out instead." I didn't particularly want to kill one of them either, but at least Kaz was generally annoying and Dani was kinda whiny sometimes, so it wouldn't be as bad.

"Oliver's making you weak and sentimental." The Annihilator told me, a hint of a growl in his voice. "So finish him, or I'll finish you and then him."

I gulped, and let my need for self-preservation push my personal attachments out of the way. "Fine." I reluctantly agreed. The Annihilator nodded approvingly as I re-opened my wormhole.

"Have fun." He told me. "Make evil choices."

**Kaz's POV**

I glanced at the watch on my wrist, gritting my teeth in frustration. The dance had started almost a half hour ago; for all I knew, I could already be too late. "Philip, please!" I begged the guard. "I need to use that phone again!"

But he wouldn't give it back. "You can't, Not Kaz, because it's broken." He lied. I frowned at him.

"No, it's not. I just used it." I reminded him. Philip raised an eyebrow at that, then slammed the phone down on the ground and stomped on it.

"It is now." He said pointedly. He smirked. "I love my new job."

I looked at the phone in despair. "Philip, you have to believe me, I'm Kaz." I begged him. "And I know that somewhere inside that giant head of yours is a shred of common sense."

Philip paused, listening to me for the first time today. "So please, let me out. I have to get to Oliver." I continued desperately. "His life is at stake."

"You said all I needed to hear." Philip told me, opening the cell just long enough for me to climb out. I looked at him, surprised.

"Really?" I didn't think he cared all that much about Oliver. He nodded.

"You said that my head was giant. Only the real Kaz would know how much that means to me." I would? "Thank you."

"No, thank you." I didn't waste another second, rushing towards the exit as fast as my legs could carry me.

**XXX**

I raced into the school, ducking past the guy taking people's coats. To my surprise, there was a number of people standing in the hall, including a very frazzled looking Alan, a laughing Jordan, and a very good-looking Dani. She was actually wearing a dress for once – I hadn't seen her in one since picture day in the third grade. It didn't have sleeves, showing off her arms, and went down to just above her knees, but the coolest thing about it was that the entire dress looked like it was made out of different comic books. "Damn, girl." I whistled, making her laugh a little.

"You made it." She smiled. "Should have come earlier, Kaz. You missed it."

"Oliver already kissed Skylar?" I demanded. To my relief, she shook her head.

"No, Alan got caught in Gus and Jordan's prank war. There was a giant claw from those claw games and everything." She told me, amused. I fought the urge to smirk at the image in my head.

"Where's Oliver?" I demanded. Dani frowned, but led me into the school gym, where Oliver and Skylar were slow dancing, both of them still alive. But it was clear that the two were leaning in for the kiss as we spoke.

"What's going on?" Dani questioned.

"If he kissed Skylar, he's going to die." I told her. She stared at me, but I didn't have time to explain. "We have to stop them."

I went to run onto the dance floor to interrupt them – I had no idea what I was going to say, but I was good on my feet, so I figured I'd just wing it – but before I could, there was a very pissed shout from the hallway.

"WHAT?!" I recognized Alan's voice immediately. "I can't take it anymore! Aaah!"

Before either Dani or I could question it, there was a scream, then a high-pitched squeal. The doors to the gym opened up and a large pig wearing a sweater vest charged in, racing onto the dance floor in a panic. The pig ran through the crowd of the dancers, all the couples splitting up, including Oliver and Skylar.

"Pig-man to the rescue?" Dani joked, the relief evident on her face.

We watched as Skylar fled the room, not looking back as she ran towards the exit. "Skylar!" Oliver called after her.

"Ollie, wait!" Dani grabbed him arm. He looked at us, confused.

"We need to stop her." He reminded us.

"There's something you need to know." I told him grimly.

**Skylar's POV**

I let out a sigh of relief, hitting my back against the exterior wall of the school. All I'd needed was one excuse, one measly reason to get out of that, and that pig had given me it. Thank you random pig wearing a sweater vest. I could still remember that look on Oliver's face before I ran, and that imaged cemented the feeling that I'd done the right thing. Oliver could be useful to me in the future, I reasoned, trying to stay away from the emotional side of things, and I was starting to get a little tired of listening to the Annihilator.

I took a deep breath, calming myself, and created a wormhole into the Annihilator's cell. I stepped through, putting on a mask of seriousness. "Is it done?" The Annihilator questioned, just as he had before. I nodded.

"It's done." I lied. "Oliver's dead."

"Excellent." He was pleased. "Wait till they hear about this at the cool villains' table."

**Kaz's POV**

"You guys were right. I did let my feelings for Skylar cloud my judgement." Oliver sighed. He looked at us. "So I was this close to dying?"

"Yup." Dani popped the P sound at the end. "But that's what we get for getting information from Wallace and Clyde."

Yeah, maybe they weren't the most reliable sources out there. "Pretty much your inability to get any woman to ever kiss you actually saved your life. You should be grateful you're not irresistible." I joked. I glanced at Dani and smirked. "I would be so dead."

I bit back a groan as she hit me in the ribs, a half-hearted glared on her face. "Look, we have to figure out how to stop Skylar and the Annihilator from destroying the city." She told us.

"Or we could just move to New York." I suggested. Oliver considered it.

"I do love bagels." He agreed. Dani chuckled.

"Yeah, but all the cool superheroes are here. New York's boring." She complained.

"We could go to California." I suggested, remembering the rumors I'd heard about those 'bionic' superheroes down there. Might be worth checking out sometime.

"But for now, let's try to save the city." Oliver told us. We nodded in agreement; we had to figure out a way to stop Skylar and the Annihilator before it was too late.


	5. Do You Want to Build A Lava-Man?

**Dani's POV**

"I got nothing." I commented, tossing away the comic book in my hands. We'd been here for hours, trying to find a way to stop the Annihilator, or Skylar, or both.

"We have to find a way to defeat the Annihilator." My brother muttered, going through his own stack of comics. I sighed and grabbed another one off the top of my pile, flipping through it for even a tiny mention of the Annihilator. "There's got to be something in one of these comic books about one of his weaknesses.

"Ha! I found it!" Kaz suddenly laughed. We both looked at him expectantly, but he just held up a piece of crinkled paper, with large, messy writing on it. "My third-grade math homework!"

"Really?" Ollie looked at him, annoyed, but Kaz grinned.

"Addition." He chuckled in amusement, looking at what was on the paper. "Like I'm ever going to use that in real life."

"Kaz, focus, okay? Skylar is trying to destroy me." I glanced away from my comic and noticed the large cardboard cut-out of Skylar standing nearby. I smirked and quietly got to my feet, walking over to it. "I have to constantly look over my shoulder, knowing that she could be right behind me, ready to strike."

"Like right now?" I inquired, standing behind him, holding the cardboard cutout close to his head. He turned around to reply, but leapt back when he saw the cutout, screaming in terror.

"You laugh like a girl!" Kaz teased, chuckling. I smirked, trying not to laugh at the particularly high-pitched scream.

"Yes, and I'd like to live long enough to scream like a woman." Ollie retorted, glaring at us before going back to his comic books. He paused after a moment. "Hold on. Remember this?"

He held up a pale red comic book with a picture of Annihilator on it. "Annihilator, the origin of evil." I read the title, gently taking the comic book from my brother. I slowly flipped through it, going through the pages with more care than I did the other comics.

"We read that, like, ten years ago." Kaz reminisced.

"It gave Ollie nightmares for weeks." I added.

"It did not." He retorted, but we both knew that back then, he refused to go to sleep until I gave him my nightlight.

"Uh, the Annihilator was born on earth and started exhibiting his mutant powers as a child. Everyone tormented him for being a freak, so he withdrew from society." I summarized, speed-reading through the pages. "But he didn't become truly powerful until he was discovered and trained by the legendary Hapax the Elder, a human with a similar mutation who wanted to groom him into a great superhero."

"Well, that backfired." Kaz commented dryly. I nodded, then continued.

"But the Annihilator decided to use his powers for evil, to make everyone suffer the way he had." I flipped the page, then crumpled up the loose sheet inside. "Kaz, stop leaving your homework everywhere." I muttered before moving onto the next page. "Anyway, Hapax the Elder was so upset about being betrayed that we went into a self-imposed exile on…Caldera. Skylar's home planet."

"Okay, maybe Hapax the Elder can help us stop his former apprentice." Ollie suggested.

"So we just have to go to Caldera and find him." Kaz decided. Ollie nodded.

"He's the only one who can drain the Annihilator's powers, which will turn Skylar and all the other evil superheroes good again."

"Only one problem." Kaz pointed out. "Nobody knows what Hapax the Elder looks like. And he's on another planet. And he's like 90 years old now, so we don't even know if he's still alive."

"That's three problems." Ollie pointed out. Kaz paused.

"Oh. I guess you do use addition in real life." He realized. I rolled my eyes.

"Alright, here's the plan. Ollie, since you're the best at research, you stay here and try to see if there's any more information on Hapax that will help us find him. Kaz, your job is to figure out a way to get us to Caldera."

"What are you going to do?" He questioned.

"We're going to an alien planet to try and stop one of the our world's most powerful villains. I think we could use a little backup." I replied. "Meet back at Mighty Med in one hour?"

"Got it." Ollie nodded, already pulling stacks of comic books out of the rack. Kaz and I left at the same time, but split up down the road.

**Xxx**

Alivia's front door was locked, but I could see the light on in her bedroom, so that wasn't about to stop me. Thankfully, like most of the houses on this road, there was a large oak tree near the window, close enough for me to climb in. I scaled the tree with ease, years of sneaking into Kaz's bedroom through his window whenever he was grounded coming in handy. I perched on one of the closest branches to her room, thankful that my weight didn't make it bend or crack. I knocked on the window, keeping one hand on the thick bark. "Liv, open up!"

The red-head's face appeared in the window, but she didn't open it, instead giving me an annoyed look. "Leave." She told me, her accent crisp. I shook my head, then gripped the branch tighter when I almost lost my balance. I refused to look down, knowing that I'd fall for sure if I did.

"Not until we talk. You've missed three days of school, Liv. It's time to get off your ass and stop pouting." I told her, trying the tough love card. She just gave me an annoyed look. "Look, I need your help with something."

"The last time you said that to me, my girlfriend got turned evil." She retorted. I winced, knowing that she hadn't liked the idea in the first place, and likely blamed us. Not that she'd be wrong to – we should have figured out a different plan, one that didn't put Jaime in as much danger.

"I know. I'm sorry." I apologized sincerely. "But now I need your help to turn her good again, along with everyone else."

She hesitated. "Liv, the longer you wait, the more likely I'm going to fall and die."

She rolled her eyes, but opened her window and stepped aside for me to climb in. "It's only two stories."

"I could still break my arm or something." I muttered, climbing into the room. I looked around, having never been in here before. It was cool, with green wallpaper that matched her superhero uniform, and pictures of me, Jaime, Clone Master, Skylar, Kaz, and Ollie covering the walls.

"So, how do you propose that we turn her good again?" Alivia got right to the point, leaning against her desk and crossing her arms. I sat down on her bed.

"Hapax the Elder." I announced. That got her attention. She leaned forward, curious. "I see you've heard of him."

"Heard of him? Legend says that he trained many of the members of the original League of Heroes." She replied, amazed. "I wonder why he stopped."

"The Annihilator. He was his last apprentice." I explained. Alivia nodded thoughtfully.

"And you think that Hapax can stop him." She hummed. "That's smart, but how are we going to find him?"

"Kaz is handling that." I told her. She sighed.

"We're doomed." She muttered.

"Probably." I agreed. "Still, you want to come with and make sure we don't all die?"

"I don't…" She broke off, glancing at her laptop. I could see numerous pictures on the screen, all of different heroes in the hospital. "The mole…"

"We already know who the mole is." I told her. Her head snapped back to me, a surprised look on her face. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but if we had…you would have gone right after them before we could figure out a new plan."

"I-" She glared at me, furious but unable to argue my point. "Who is it?"

"I'll tell you if you agree to come with us." I offered. She looked at me, annoyed. "Please, Liv? For Jaime?"

**Oliver's POV**

Exactly one hour later, we all met up at Mighty Med. Kaz was already there, waiting for us, and Dani and Alivia had followed me into the ER.

"Alright, report!" Dani ordered. We all looked at her, and she laughed lightly. "Sorry, I like being in charge."

"I got nothing. There's no mention of Hapax the Elder in any other comics." I told them. "No idea whether he's alive, or what he looks like."

"Well, I got our backup." Dani put her hands on Alivia's shoulders. "And she's no longer pissed at us for turning her girlfriend evil."

"I wouldn't say that." Alivia told her, brushing her hands off her. "But I am onboard with the plan. How do we get to Caldera?"

"I had an idea about that." Kaz replied. "We take the I-95, get off at exit 17, go straight for about 81 billion light-years, and we'll eventually get to Caldera."

"We can't take the I-95." Alivia told him, frowning. "It's under construction."

"Right, forgot about that." Kaz realized. "Okay, then what about the wormhole transporter?"

"Where is it?" Dani questioned. Kaz paused, drawing up a blank.

"Uh…" He looked around. "I don't know where Horace keeps it."

"And we can't tell Horace about Skylar being evil, or he'll be in danger too." Alivia reasoned. "Not to mention, there's the possibility that he's another mole for the Annihilator."

"I seriously doubt that." Kaz commented, looking at her.

"We can't be sure." She replied.

"I got it." I told her as Horace walked in. I walked up to our boss, trying to look casual. "Hey Horace. Dee, Kaz, and I have a lot of vacation days stored up, and we were hoping to take a road trip…maybe to the planet Caldera. So can we borrow the wormhole transporter?"

"Absolutely not!" He shot us down. "The wormhole transporter is not a toy! This is a toy!"

He pulled out a paddleball and began to play with it, bouncing the ball against the white paddle.

"C'mon, Horace. We'll put gas in the wormhole transporter when we're done." Kaz promised him. "If it takes gas."

"We really don't know how it works." Dani added sheepishly.

"I said no!" Horace snapped before pointing at a nearby drawer. "Don't even open that drawer, where I keep it."

"Yes sir." Dani agreed, inching closer to the drawer.

"Besides, you couldn't survive on Caldera without atmosphere regulator patches, which I also forbid you to use." He added sternly. I nodded.

"Of course." I replied, trying to sound disappointed. He walked away to go check on a patient in one of the private rooms, and Dani slid open the drawer with the wormhole transporter.

"Put on these regulator patches." I instructed, pulling four out of the drawer next to it.

"Cold!" Kaz complained as he put his on.

"Here. I don't…buttons confuse me." My sister admitted, handing me the device. I started fiddling with the controls.

"Wait, are you sure you want to use the wormhole transporter?" Kaz inquired. "I'm just saying, if we drive, we can play I-Spy."

"Ooh, that sounds fun." Dani smirked.

"Only because you always win." Kaz retorted.

"Guys!" Alivia snapped, cutting them off. They sighed, and stopped. "Everyone read?"

"Let's go." I pressed a button on the wormhole transporter, and a circle of bright blue light appeared around us. It surrounded us, blinding us for a brief moment. When the light disappeared, we were standing in the middle of a desert, red sand and rocks as far as the eye can see. "I can't believe it. We're on Caldera, the volcanic planet."

Kaz grinned. "I spy with my little eye, something that starts with a V."

"Volcano?" Dani guessed. Kaz scowled.

"Told you she always wins." He muttered to Alivia, who merely rolled her eyes.

**Dani's POV**

We spent a while wandering around the barren planet until finally, we caught sight of a someone wearing a thick, heavy white jacket. "Hey, maybe that person over there will know where we can find Hapax the Elder." I commented.

"Good idea." Ollie nodded as he walked up to the figure. "Excuse me?"

The figure stood up and turned around to face us. We all flinched backwards as Skylar's face looked back at us, my brother letting out another girly shriek.

"I forgot. All Calderans are grown in genetic pods, so they're identical." I realized. Ollie looked at the girl in front of us in amazement.

"Every girl looks just like Skylar." He hummed. "A planet full of Skylars is, like, my dream come true."

"Yes, but since you're afraid of her now, doesn't that also make this your worst nightmare?" Alivia questioned. Ollie looked horrified.

"I'm so torn." He murmured. I laughed, patting his shoulder.

"Is it always so hot here?" Kaz inquired, looking at the Skylar-doppelganger. She looked at him as if he were crazy.

"Hot?" She repeated. "It's only 3000 degrees! This is the coldest winter we've had in years!"

"Winter?" Ollie laughed in disbelief.

"Well, that would explain the lava-man." I commented, gesturing. Behind the girl we were talking to, a pair of Calderans were building a snowman out of lava rocks.

"Cool." I grinned. I moved to get a better look, but stumbled back when a four-foot-tall, scrawny, furry creature climbed out from behind a pile of rocks. I frowned, realizing that the face of the creature looked awfully familiar. "Gus?"

"Who's Gus?" The creature sounded like him too. "And that's the most ridiculous name I've ever heard! My name is Kakai-Rata-Heeha-Mwa-Floopy-Pa-Zoing."

"I'm just gonna call you Kakai, okay?" I replied, wondering who in the world chose that name for him.

"Wait, Skylar once showed me a picture of her dorenbosch and he looked a lot like Gus. This must be him." Ollie commented, walking over to me.

"First off, I'm a her." Kakai told my brother, slightly offended. "And did you say Skylar? As in Skylar Storm?"

"Yeah, we're friends of hers from Earth." Alivia told the dorenbosch. Kakai smiled.

"I haven't seen Skylar is a year! I've gotten no attention at all." She opened her arms. "Can a sister get a belly-rub?"

"Not it." Alivia, Kaz, and I said at the exact same time. Ollie glared at us.

"Maybe later." He told Kakai. "Anyway, we're here because Skylar needs our help. Do you have any idea where we could find Hapax the Elder?"

Kakai thought about it. "Maybe. He's pretty reclusive, but I think I can find him for you. Follow me."

"Sweet, thanks girl." Kaz told Kakai as she led us past the rocks.

"So, you're friends of Skylar's?" The dorenbosch confirmed.

"Well, they're friends with her. She and I…it's complicated." Ollie replied. Kaz sent him a look.

"It's not complicated; you're just friends." He reminded him.

**Xxx**

"Man, I hope Hapax the Elder isn't like Grandpa." Ollie muttered me t as we walked into a pitch-black cave.

I nodded in agreement, then, realizing that he probably couldn't see me, added, "Yeah."

"Isn't your grandpa dead?" Alivia questioned from behind me.

"The other one." I replied, shrugging. He was always so grouchy with us, never really wanting to listen to anything we had to say.

"He's a stamp collector." Kaz reminded us.

"Yes, because our biggest fear in this dark and scary cave is that Hapax has a somewhat boring hobby." I commented sarcastically. Suddenly, the lights turned on. Standing at the far edge of the cave was a short man in a black and white robe, the hood covering his head.

"Who goes there?" He demanded.

"We're looking for Hapax the Elder." Alivia told him, the only one of us who wasn't even the slightest bit afraid of the scary man in the robe. But our own fears disappeared the moment he removed the hood, revealing that he looked exactly like Alan.

"You found him." He announced. We all looked at him. "What are you staring at?"

"I'm sorry, you just look a lot like a guy we know." I replied. "Your last name isn't Diaz, is it?"

"Diaz?" Hapax scoffed. "It's Gonzalez. Hapax the Elder Gonzalez."

I had to bite back a smile. Alan's father was Nelson Gonzalez. No way was that was a coincidence. Alivia raised her eyebrows, surprised, but didn't comment on it.

"But I don't get it. You're not old." Kaz commented bluntly.

"Oh, let me guess. On Caldera, Elder means teenager?" Ollie suggested. Hapax shook his head.

"No, our word for teenager is 'I hate, you're ruining my life'." Kakai informed us.

"Oh, Dani's used that quite a bit." Ollie commented. I gave him a look.

"Yeah, well, we both know she's at least trying to." I grumbled.

"Melodramatic much?" Ollie accused.

"They call me Hapax the Elder because I'm 93 years old." The Alan lookalike continued as if we'd never spoken. "My mutation has caused me to age in reverse. And also crave human blood."

I subtly placed myself behind Kaz. "I'm just kidding." Hapax assured us. Oh, guess it wasn't that subtle. He grabbed a ball off a rock-formed table and threw it out of the cave. Kakai stared at it.

"I guess I'll go get that." She offered before following it out. We looked at Hapax.

"Look, we came here because we need your help. A friend of ours, Skylar Storm, is in trouble." Kaz explained.

"She was turned evil by the Annihilator." Ollie continued. Hapax froze at his name.

"And she wasn't the only one, either." Alivia added. "Because of him, at least half a dozen superheroes have been turned evil."

"We were hoping that you would help us defeat him." I finished, looking at him pleadingly.

"I-I don't think so." To our shock and dismay, he refused. 'I'm way too old for the superhero game. Besides, I don't think I'm powerful enough anymore to defeat Neil."

"Neil?" Kaz repeated, confused.

"Sorry, The Annihilator." Hapax rolled his eyes. "When I knew him, he was Neil Gunzenhauser but that was years ago, back when we both lived on Earth."

"Here you go." Kakai ran back in, holding the ball. Hapax took it from him and threw it out of the cave once more. Kakai looked at him, confused.

"Why would you do that? I just brought it back." She sighed before racing after the ball once more.

"Hapax, please." Ollie begged him. "You're our only hope to save Skylar, our friends, and the Earth."

Hapax must have seen the look of desperation on his face, and sighed. "Alright, I'll help you. But you have to bring me something first."

"Some cave freshener?" Alivia sniffed the air with distain.

"The box of Azimeth." Hapax told us. "It lies at the top of Caldera's tallest volcano and it's guarded by a man-eating monster known as the Dracaina. Fortunately, the Dracaina hibernates during the winter, so the only thing that would be able to wake it up would be if the long dormant volcano suddenly erupted."

Suddenly, we all heard a rumbling sound. "Was that the volcano?" I demanded.

"No, no, no." Hapax assured us. "That was my stomach; I skipped lunch." We all sighed in relief, but were cut off by a loud explosion. "That was the volcano."

"Great." Alivia muttered. She looked at me. "Why'd I let you talk me into this?"

Before I could reply, Kakai ran back in. She handed the ball to Hapax, who once again threw it away. But this time, Kakai stood her ground, refusing to fetch it. "No! This time, you can go get it!"

Hapax ignored her and grabbed a large bow and a quiver of arrows off the ground. He handed them to the boys.

"I think these are for you." Ollie handed me the bow. I chuckled and shouldered the bow.

"And you thought those archery classes were a waste of time." I smirked smugly, walking past my friends on my way out of the cave.

**Oliver's POV**

As of this moment, I didn't think it was possible to be more annoyed with Kaz and Dani.

"Are we there yet?" Dani questioned, whining as she used the bow as a walking stick.

"Stop it." Alivia snapped.

"Are we there yet?" Kaz moaned.

"Quit it." I warned.

"Are we there yet?" They both demanded at the same time. Alivia and I exchanged looks.

"If one of you guys ask that one more time…" Alivia let the threat hang.

"We're here!" I exclaimed, almost relieved when we reached the top of the volcano.

"Oh, cool." Dani smiled. Kaz looked around, impressed, until the volcano shook again, rocks tumbling down the side of it.

"Can we go now?" My best friend begged.

"Quit it." I ordered.

"Can we go now?" Dani added, looking at me and Alivia pleadingly.

"Stop it." Alivia scolded as we walked past a massive crop of rocks. Just behind them, a little, seemingly old, lady sitting on a rock in front of us.

"Excuse me, ma'am." Kaz approached her. "We're looking for the man-eating beast that protects the box of Azimeth. Do you know where it is?"

She didn't answer. "She probably didn't hear you." Dani offered. "She's very old…or young. I'm really confused."

I rubbed her arm gently, chuckling a bit. "Excuse me!" Kaz tried shouting. "Do you know where the box of Azimeth is?"

"It's right over there." The old lady slowly stood up and pointed at an old box made of stone, sitting nearby. "And I have a name, you know; Dracaina."

Kakai began to whimper, sneaking behind me. "Don't worry, Kakai-Rata-Heeha-Mwa-Floopy-Pa-Zoing." I assured her gently. "We'll be okay."

"Yeah, I mean, how hard is it going to be to get past a little old lady?" Kaz agreed. We turned to face the Dracaina, but to our surprise, her entire jaw unhinged, smoke and sparks flying from it. We leapt back as she began to shoot lava out of her mouth at us. We bolted behind nearby rocks as she blasted streams of lava towards us.

"You'll never get the box of Azimeth while I'm alive!" The Dracaina called. "I've spent my entire life guarding it!"

"Well, hey, you know, maybe it's time for a career change!" Kaz shouted.

"Have you ever considered the job of handing over the box of Azimeth?" Dani added. She let out a surprised shriek, once again ducking behind the rock when the Dracaina spit another ball of fire at us. "Never mind!"

"We need to get that box now!" I hissed. "Hapax gave us that bow."

Dani nodded, slipping the bow off her shoulder. "Let's hit her with everything we've got."

She reached out towards Kaz, expecting him to hand her the arrows, but Kaz was already moving ahead of himself, and he threw the quiver at the Dracaina like it was a javelin. The quiver full of arrows flew past the monster, and right into the volcano. Alivia, Dani, and I all turned on him, looking like he was an idiot. "You know, as soon as it left my hand, I kinda knew I made a mistake."

"Now we're totally out of ammunition." Dani muttered. She looked to me for a solution. "Ollie, what do we do?"

"I-" Before I could answer, the Dracaina shot another lava ball at us. This time, it completely obliterated the rock we were using to protect ourselves. We raced behind another nearby rock, hands covering our heads as the debris fell towards us.

"Watch out for lava! And the falling rocks!" I shouted. "Wow, I hate this planet."

"What about the Skylar population?" Dani teased. I gave her a look, and was about to tell her to be quiet, but then I got an idea.

"Falling rocks!" I exclaimed. "If we caused a rockslide over by the Dracaina, it might knock her into the lava pit."

"We could use the bow as a slingshot!" Alivia grinned. She looked at Dani. "Is your aim good enough to do that?"

"You insult me." My sister retorted. "Boys, hold the bow."

"Yes ma'am." We both replied, grabbing an end of the bow. Dani settled herself behind it.

"Here, take this weird shaped rock." Kakai offered, handing her a white, oddly shaped object. Dani threw it at Alivia the moment it touched her hands, a disgusted look on her face.

"That's a skull!" She cried, a horrified look on her face. "An animal skull."

"Would it be better if it were a human skull?" Alivia retorted, trying to hand the skull back to her. Dani shook her head.

"No way. I'm not touching that." My sister refused.

"Dee-" I tried, but she was adamant.

"Nope." She shook her head. Kakai sighed.

"I'll do it." She offered, taking Dani's place. The dorenbosch took the skull from Alivia and placed it in front of the bow's string.

"Alright, we'll launch on three. One…two…" I didn't even get to three. Apparently, the pressure that built up when Kakai pulled back on the string was too much for her to handle, and the force of it flung her off her feet, along with the skull. Both of them were violently thrown into the side of the volcano, causing a rock fall. The Dracaina tried to get out of the way, but wasn't able to get clear from the falling rocks in time, and was knocked into the lava pit below her. Kaz, Alivia, Dani, and I raced up to the edge to make sure that the monster was gone.

"Wow. The Dorenbosch…" Kaz looked up at where Kakai had hit, but Skylar's pet was nowhere to be found. "He-"

"-she," Dani corrected.

"-totally risked his-" He continued.

"-her" Dani gave him a look.

"To save us." Kaz finished.

"I hope she's okay." Alivia murmured, craning her neck to try and find Kakai. "The dorenbosch, not the Dracaina. The Dracaina was a complete tool."

**Dani's POV**

"Sorry we took so long." I apologized as Alivia, Kaz, Ollie, and I ran into Hapax's cave. I sent a glare back at my brother. "Someone made us stop so he could check his hair."

"Well, it's not my fault that I got hit in the head with a lava ball and my hair caught on fire."

"Surprisingly, it doesn't look that bad." Alivia commented, looking carefully at the back of Ollie's head.

"I really hate this planet." Ollie muttered. Hapax sighed.

"I didn't think you would ever come back. Otherwise, I would have put out some snacks." He told us. "You guys like hummus?"

"It's okay. We're just happy to be alive." I assured him.

"Actually, I wouldn't say no to some cheese." Kaz suggested. He caught my, Alivia, and Ollie's disapproving looks, but shrugged it off before placing the box of Azimeth on Hapax's table.

"You four have done well." Hapax complimented us, nodding at us in approval as he removed the lid from the box. "Azimeth used this box to protect this amulet that gives the possessor the incredible power to…balance my coffee table."

He quickly slid the amulet – a circular, engraved coin about the size of my hand – under a leg of the coffee table. "That's been bugging me for years."

"Seriously?" Alivia raised an eyebrow, a little annoyed. Hapax looked at her and she smiled. "Oh, don't worry about. It doesn't make us feel like we risked our lives for nothing at all."

"Well, it shouldn't, because you've all passed my test and proved your bravery." Hapax told her. "I will now come back to Earth with you and help you defeat The Annihilator."

"Thank you." Ollie breathed a sigh of relief as we all exchanged high-fives.

"But do I have to call him 'The Annihilator'? He just looks so much like a Neil to me."

"Call him whatever you want so long as we kick his ass." I replied, grinning. I looked at Alivia and Ollie. "Let's go turn your girlfriends good again."

"So, are we going, or what?" Kaz questioned.

"I feel like I'm forgetting something." Hapax frowned. "Oh, right. I should get a sweater. I'm used to the temperature on Caldera, and besides, I look really good in sweaters. But not sweater vests. They're very unflattering."

He went into the back of his cave to retrieve a sweater. "I cannot wait to get out of here and finally have this whole nightmare behind me."

I opened my mouth to agree, but froze when a wormhole opened up behind him. Skylar and the Annihilator both stepped out of it, neither looking too pleased with us. "That's not the only thing that's behind you." Ollie told him and Alivia. We turned our friends around so that they too could stare in horror at the pair.

Skylar and the Annihilator both stared us down threateningly, and I gulped nervous. We were definitely in some trouble now.

"You know…he really does look like a Neil." I whispered to Kaz, trying and failing to alleviate some of the tension.


	6. Storm's End

**Dani's POV**

We all stared at Skylar and the Annihilator, shocked that they'd found us so easily.

"What are you doing here?" Alivia demanded, stepping in front of us.

"We figured you'd come to Hapax the Elder. He is the only person who can defeat the Annihilator." Skylar replied, smirking.

"Hapax the Elder is the last obstacle keeping me from destroying the world. So he must be destroyed." The Annihilator sneered. We all exchanged looks before attempting to run and warn Hapax. But before we could get far, the Annihilator and Skylar raised their hands and used their powers to freeze the four of us in place.

He paused. "Wait a second. Why is Oliver here?" He turned to Skylar. "You told me you finished him off at the dance?"

Skylar feigned a look of surprise. "I did. I watched him die. I mean, he was all like 'Ah, I'm dying', and I was all like 'Ha! You're dead!'."

Huh, Skylar had lied to the Annihilator about killing my brother. But why?

"Hmm, this must be the work of the Legendary Healer of Superheroes, Caduceo." The Annihilator hummed. "He must have come out of hiding to bring Oliver back to life."

"That's exactly what I was thinking." Skylar agreed with him readily, not wanting to get busted for lying.

"Caduceo will pau for this! I'll have my minions track him down and finish him off for good." The Annihilator threatened. "Then no one will be able to resurrect Kaz, Dani, Geminus, and Oliver once I'm done with them!"

"I found my favorite sweater!" Hapax called from the back of the cave. "My son bought it for me years ago!"

He stepped into the main part of the cave, holding up a grey sweater. He froze when he saw Skylar and the Annihilator. "Neil?"

He noticed that we were frozen and used his powers to reverse what Skylar and the Annihilator had done. "Take cover!"

"No prob!" I shouted as Kaz, Ollie and I moved to hide behind Hapax's couch. Alivia stood in front of it, fists clenched and ready for a fight. She was glaring at Skylar hatefully, clearly blaming her for everything that had happened to Jaime. "Geminus!"

"There's not enough room for us all to hide behind there anyway!" My best friend retorted. She looked at Hapax. "I will happily help you kick his butt."

Hapax nodded at her gratefully, then turned to the Annihilator. "Hello, my old student. I wish I could say it's good to see you again."

"Hapax the Elder." The Annihilator sneered. "You look so old, your grey hair has turned black."

"I tried dyeing it grey for a while, but who was I kidding?" Hapax sighed.

"I could easily destroy you with the help of Skylar or my cannon." The Annihilator mused, dropping his cannon at his feet and clenching his fists.. "But I'd rather fight you mano a mano, or should I say, mutant to mutant."

"You shouldn't. Mano a mano sounds much better." Alivia commented, not taking her eyes off Skylar. The Annihilator and Hapax began to circle around each other for a moment before they each blasted a beam of energy at each other, the two attacks colliding and fighting with each other to see which one would prove the most powerful. Alivia and Skylar stood at opposite ends, keeping their distance, but remaining close enough to help if need be.

"Kaz, what are you doing?" I turned my neck at Ollie's question, and frowned when I saw Kaz smiling at the cave's ceiling and giving it a thumb's up.

"Well, when Ambrose draws this battle for the comic book, I want to make sure I don't have a weird, scared expression on my face."

"Like Ollie's?" I whispered. My brother gave me an annoyed look.

"You taught me every skill I know, and now those skills will be your undoing." The Annihilator growled,

"You may have learned how to use those skills, but not why to use them, Neil."

"Stop calling me Neil!" The Annihilator snapped, just before Hapax overwhelmed him. The blast of energy suddenly became too strong for the Annihilator to keep at bay, and the force knocked him clean off his feet. But the villain wasn't done. He grabbed one of Hapax's staffs from where it leaned against the wall and charged at the Elder, leaping into the air at the last minute. He brought all his power down on Hapax at once, but the superhero trainer used his telekinesis (yet another trait that reminded me of Alan) to retrieve his own staff, managing to hold it up in defense at the last second, blocking the Annihilator's blow. They attacked each other, each trying to use their weapon to knock their opponent off guard, but it soon became clear that while Hapax looked young, his reflexes were not. The Annihilator was managing to get more hits in, and between blows from the staff and sharp kicks to his stomach, Hapax was losing his advantage. It wasn't long before the Annihilator managed to get Hapax on his back, the supervillain ready to deliver the final blow.

"The power cannon!" Kaz hissed suddenly, pointing at the weapon. Ollie sprung into action, leaping at the weapon and swiping it off the floor in one fluid motion. He hefted it up into his arms, aiming it directly at the Annihilator.

"Skylar, give yourself up, or I'll destroy the Annihilator." He threatened, giving her a desperate look. Kaz and I exchanged looks. This was one hell of a bluff; we both knew that Ollie didn't have it in him to actually kill someone, I don't think any of us could ever do something like that. But all we needed to do was convinced Skylar that we could.

I don't know what I was expecting her to do, but I certainly did not expect her to smirk and reply, "You know what? I'll save you the trouble," before turning towards the Annihilator and blasting him full of hot pink energy. The attack threw him to ground and he did not get back up, his entire body smoking. We all stared in shock at his limp body.

"You killed him?" I looked at Skylar, confused. Ollie beamed.

"I knew you weren't evil." His face was lit up like a Christmas tree. "There past few weeks have all been a scheme to get revenge on The Annihilator." He glanced back at Kaz. "You owe me a pudding cup."

"Oh, I'm still evil." Skylar replied, sounding as if she was trying to reassure us. She raised her hand to her hair and a white streak appeared, the hairs losing their color right before our eyes. She looked down at the Annihilator in distain. "I was just sick of that guy. It was always 'Annihilate this, annihilate that'." She complained. Ollie's face fell, his hopes destroyed.

"And besides" She continued, smiling, "why settle for destroying Earth when I'm powerful enough to rule the entire universe?"

"Now who owes who a pudding cup?" Kaz whispered. Ollie glared him at him.

"Skylar, you don't have to do this." Alivia told her, hoping she'd come to her sense. She shrugged.

"No, but I want to do this." She replied dismissively. Ollie gulped nervously.

"Please don't destroy us." He begged her. She looked at us, baffled by the fear on our faces.

"Come on, how could you ever think I'd do that? You guys are my friends!" She reminded us. I let out a slow sigh of relief. "That's why I'm going to let you live and turn you evil."

"You've got to be kidding me, right?" Alivia raised an eyebrow. Skylar shook her head.

"That's why I turned Spark evil. So we could all be together." She insisted. "You guys are going to work for me. I may be a supervillain, but I still need someone to get froyo with."

"You've lost your mind." I've heard of people going power mad, but I didn't think it actually meant they went crazy.

"I'm fine, by the way!" We heard Kakai shout, coming into the lair. "Thanks for waiting for me."

The dorenbosch stopped short when she saw Skylar, the pet beaming excitedly. "Skylar! Skylar!" She screamed in joy, leaping onto her and licking her face.

"C'mon." I grabbed Ollie by the arm, dragging him out of the cave with me. Kaz and Alivia followed shortly, helping the injured Hapax stumbled along.

**Barry's POV**

"Hey Gus, Jordan." I frowned, surprised to see the younger boy in the Domain. It had been empty for the past couple of weeks, the owners nowhere to be found. I only came in myself because I saw the light on and wondered if Dani was in, seeing as it was her favorite hang out. "What are you doing here?"

"We've decided to take over." Jordan explained, smirking.

"What about Wallace and Clyde?" I thought that was what their names were.

"No sign of them." Gus replied. He looked at Jordan excitedly. "Maybe they finally got their children's book published about the win earthworms who run a comic book store and leave once they finally get their children's book published."

"Yeah…" She gave him a weirded out look before smiling at me. "Now, what do ya need, Barry?"

"Just looking for Dani." I replied, shrugging. "Coach Rombough says there's some sort of state wide archery tournament for high schools in a couple of months, and since we're the only ones in school with any archery training, he wants us to represent Logan High."

"I still can't believe you guys took an archery class together." Jordan shook her head at me. "Who does that?"

"Us." I replied, a little offended at her tone.

Jordan smirked and was about to make a smug remark when she suddenly froze, her brown eyes going wide. "No way."

I frowned, turning around, but all I saw were two guys outside the store, both of them wearing suspiciously identical outfits. "What?"

"Did you see that?" Jordan looked at Gus, fairly excited about something. He shook his head.

"No. I think I need glasses." He replied. We both looked at him. "Oh, these are fakes ones to make me look studly."

Jordan ignored him and looked at me before pointing at the guys outside. "Those guys, who look exactly like Tecton and Blue Tornado just, like, dropped out of the sky."

"I think you both need glasses." I commented, shaking my head. Jordan's imagination was just as wild as Dani's.

"I'm not seeing things." She walked around the counter to stand next to me.

"He knows, Jordan. He meant you should wear some to improve your looks." Gus called.

"Uh, no, I didn't. She looks fine without them." I replied before looking at those guys. "But yeah, I think you're seeing things."

"I know this makes no sense, but I think superheroes are real." Jordan insisted. "I saw those guys switch from their superhero uniforms and into street clothes like that." She snapped her fingers. I nodded, staring at her.

"You're right. That does make no sense." I agreed. She glared at me. "Jordan, that's crazy talk and we both know it."

"I know what I saw." She insisted. I chuckled and look over at the two guys. They were talking to each other, looking serious. Though I certainly didn't believe Jordan's story, something about them did give me the creeps.

**Dani's POV**

We got away from that cave as fast as we could, Alivia and Kaz basically dragging Hapax with them. "Stop, we need a break." Alivia called after a while. I looked around. We were in the middle of nowhere, with no sign of Skylar.

"Alright." Ollie agreed as Alivia helped Hapax sit on a rock. "How are you doing, Hapax?"

"Not good. My place is trashed, and my cave-keeper doesn't come until next week." He sighed. "Also, I'm very badly hurt."

"We have to get out of here." I looked at Kaz, hoping he had a plan.

"We need to get home to Might Med so we can contact the League of Heroes and get them to take Skylar out."

"What?" Ollie looked at him, shocked. "No, we can't quit on Skylar!"

"Oliver, we gave it our best shot. But it's a superhero's duty to stop criminals." Alivia told him, serious.

"What about Jaime? Because last I checked, she was evil too." My brother challenged. Alivia's face became serious, her mask helping her look colder than she was.

"She may be evil, but she hasn't committed any crimes yet. Therefore, so long as we keep her contained and out of trouble, we can sit down and find a way to turn her back. But Skylar just killed someone. Yes, he was a villain and it was his own fault, but she just committed  _murder_." She emphasized the word, trying to get it into his head. "She's too far gone."

"No, she's not. She's still a good person inside." Ollie insisted. I put my hand on his shoulder.

"Ollie, I know you always try and see the good in people, and I love that about you, I do, but…" I shook my head helplessly. "I don't think there's any good left in her."

"Yes, there is!" He slapped my hand away, angry and frustrated. I pulled my hand back, silently reminding myself that he only did that because he was upset and he was actually in love with the girl we were trying to take down. "We have to save her!"

"Why are you so obsessed with saving her?" Kaz questioned, losing his patience. "How about saving us?"

"Well maybe she's more worth saving than you guys." Ollie retorted. That stunned us into silence.

"She is, is she?" I hummed after a long moment. Even Kaz looked shocked that he would say that to us. "She's more worth saving than us? Who's tried to destroy you about twelve times in the past week? Oh yeah, Skylar!"

"You're exaggerating." Ollie rolled his eyes.

"Okay, you know what's not exaggerating? I've had your back since we were five years old! Alivia's dedicated all of her free time to protecting us. And Dani's your freaking sister! And you still think that Skylar, a supervillain you've known for barely a year, is more worth saving than us?" Kaz snapped, furious. "Look, I know you have this fantasy about her falling in love with you, but I've got some news for you pal, it's never going to happen!"

Oliver glared at him. "Well, I've got some news for you pal: shut your face!"

I glanced over my shoulder, hoping their fight wouldn't get anyone's attention. This was getting serious; the three of us didn't fight this bad very often, and while Ollie obviously needed a reality check when it came to how Skylar felt about him, Kaz had clearly hurt him.

"Guys? Skylar's coming." Alivia hissed, clapping her hand over my boyfriend's mouth before he could say anything else. "We need to hide."

"Let's go." I grabbed Kaz's arm, trying to usher him behind a large rock.

"Fine, but I'm not hiding with Oliver. Come on, Hapax." He looked at the elder expectantly. Ollie glared him.

"No, Hapax, come with me!" He insisted. Seriously, were they being this childish?

"I'm going to hide with Kaz," Hapax said slowly, giving my brother an apologetic look, "But only because he asked first."

"Come on." Kaz, Hapax, Alivia, and I hid behind a large rock, while Ollie insisted on hiding behind one a few feet away from us. We hid just as Skylar's face came into view, her eyes searching the horizon for us.

"You can't hide forever!" She shouted. "My Skylar Sense will detect you. That, or I'll hear Kaz, because he hums when he's nervous."

"I knew I shouldn't have hid with you." Hapax muttered under his breath. Kaz sent him a look, but didn't get a chance to speak before Ollie did.

"I'm right here." To my shock and dismay, Ollie stood up from behind his rock, raising his hands slowly to show that he was unarmed.

"What is he doing?" Alivia hissed.

"Being an idiot." Kaz muttered, eyes wide. What was he thinking? Skylar was going to kill him! Or turn him evil!

"You're too powerful and no one can stop you." Ollie told Skylar as he slowly approached her. "I give up."

Skylar laughed. "How sweet. Trying to sacrifice yourself to save your friends."

Ollie shook his head. "No, I'm trying to save myself. I'm done with them." He turned and pointed at the rock we were hiding behind. "Alivia, Kaz, Dani, and Hapax are all hiding behind that rock."

And suddenly, it was like time stopped. Ollie had betrayed us. The one person I always trusted with everything, even more than I trusted Kaz, was my brother, and he'd just sold us out. I just couldn't wrap my head around it, not at all.

Suddenly, the rock exploded, pieces flying everywhere as Skylar's blast destroyed it. Ollie and Skylar both stood in front of us, staring at us. Kaz, Alivia and I slowly stood up and I saw that my look of disbelief and hurt was mirrored on Kaz's face as well. Alivia glared at them, hands clenched, but I could tell she was hurt as well by my brother's abandonment.

**Barry's POV**

"I'm telling you, I know what I saw!" Jordan was beginning to sound desperate and a tiny bit paranoid as she eyed the two guys outside. "At least I think I do."

"Just remember to say it exactly like that to your court-appointed psychiatrist." I replied, rolling my eyes. She glared at me, but paused when the door opened and one of the two guys walked in and began to browse through the comics. He was tall and blonde, and I supposed he did look similar to the hero in the Tecton comics, but I seriously doubted that he was a superhero.

"I'll prove that he's Tecton." Jordan told me. "The meteor in Tecton's chest contains iron. If I can get a hold of an electromagnet, it'll stick to his chest."

"And where are you going to get an electromagnet?" I questioned. Gus reached into his backpack and pulled out a large, white cylinder. I looked at him. "You carry an electromagnet around in your bag?"

"Why? Do you not carry an electromagnet around with you at all time?" He stared at me. "You're so weird."

"Right, okay." I nodded before looking at Jordan.

"Distract him." She told me. I sighed and walked up to the stranger, wondering why the hell I was getting myself involved in all of this.

"Can I help you, sir?" I inquired. He shook his head.

"Uh, no thanks. I'm just shopping for my son." He replied.

"We don't sell children here." I figured I needed to keep him talking if Jordan was going to try to prove this, and making jokes was a good way to go. "What kind of store do you think this is?"

He looked at me as if I was an idiot, then turned back to the display. Meanwhile, Jordan had turned on the electromagnet. While the man didn't move, I could tell that something was wrong with him as a determined frown formed on his face. He didn't even flinch as metallic items began to fly towards Jordan, starting small like headphones, but quickly growing in size, such as the garbage can that shot straight at her.

"Jordan!" I exclaimed as the garbage can hit her to the ground. "Are you okay?"

"Help me up!" She retorted, holding out her hand. Smirking, I pulled her to her feet, then glanced at the man, who was continuing to look through the products.

"So, that didn't work." I commented. She gave me a fierce look.

"I'm not done." She assured me. I sighed; this was going to be a very long day, wasn't it?

**Dani's POV**

"I can't believe you sold us out." I could barely look at my brother, I was so angry.

"I am never talking to you again." Kaz was clearly on my side on this. Ollie shrugged.

"Oh, too bad." He commented sarcastically. "I'm really going to miss all the dangling participles and indefinite pronouns."

"And this is why you don't have a girlfriend." I muttered. Alivia glared at him.

"You're a coward, Short." She told him. He looked her in the eye.

"That's your opinion." He replied simply before turning to Skylar. "Alright, I'm ready to become a villain. Is it going to hurt? I hope it won't hurt."

"Hapax, you have to drain her powers!" Kaz hissed, looking at the Alan-duplicate. He shook his head.

"I can't; I'm too injured." He explained. "She'd destroy me before I could finish."

I watched as Skylar pulled out a silver syringe, eerily glowing green liquid inside. But just before she could inject my brother with it, he pulled a large black rock out from his backpack and held it on top of her head. Surprisingly, the rock seemed to have some sort of an effect on her, as she stumbled and swayed before hitting the ground with a groan. "What's going on?"

"It's coal, her one weakness." Ollie explained, tossing the coal up and catching it like it was a baseball. He looked at Hapax. "Hapax, drain her powers while she's too weak to stop you."

Hapax raised his hands and began to drain the powers from Skylar, while we all watched. Slowly, but surely, Hapax drained the powers out of her. "Look." Alivia laughed in disbelief as Skylar's hair streak began to change colors. "Her hair is turning pink."

"She's a superhero again!" I exclaimed.

"Not quite." Hapax told us solemnly. "In order to turn remove the evil from her, I also had to remove her powers, and I can't give them back to her because they're tainted. You can't separate one from the other."

"So, I'm powerless?" We looked down to see Skylar slowly pulling herself together, climbing onto her knees.

"I'm afraid so." Hapax nodded as Ollie helped our friend to her feet. My brother looked at her.

"Don't worry, Skylar. We'll figure out a way to get your powers back again." He promised her. I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes. He was always making promises to that girl. "But for now, at least you're okay."

"Guys…" Skylar looked at us, eyes wide and vulnerable. "I'm so-"

Before she could finish her sentence, a blast of dark energy came out of nowhere, hitting her in the back of then neck. The sudden attack, combined with the lingering effects of the coal, was enough to bring her back to her knees. We snapped our heads to the side to see the Annihilator, using a rock to keep himself standing and glaring at us.

"I thought you were dead!" Alivia exclaimed, staring at the villain.

"Not yet. Not before that traitor, Skylar Storm, is." He replied, readying his power canon to attack again. But before he could, Hapax raised his hands and drained the power from him. However, instead of the power flooding into Hapax like Skylar's, the power seemed to go in every direction, creating a wave around us, like a raindrop falling into a puddle.

"What did you just do?" Kaz questioned as the Annihilator collapsed.

"I drained his life force." Hapax explained. "That wave of power will release everyone who was under his influence."

"So all the superheroes whose powers he tainted will instantly not be evil anymore?" Alivia stared at him. I smirked, knowing that there was only one hero she cared about.

"Of course not. We're a billion light-years away from Earth. The wave won't get there instantly." He responded. "It could take anywhere from 1,500 to 2,000 seconds!"

We frowned at him. "I really did not expect you to say seconds." Kaz commented. I glanced at my brother.

"1,500 to 2,000 seconds?" I questioned. He sighed.

"25 to 33 minutes, give or take." He replied before bending down to help Skylar back up.

"Okay, half an hour, not bad." Alivia nodded.

"I can't believe we just defeated the Annihilator." Kaz grinned, watching as the Annihilator's body crumpled into a pile of ashes. He wouldn't be bothering anyone ever again.

"We?" Hapax repeated sternly.

"Skylar, are you okay?" Ollie questioned, looking at the pink-clad former hero. I examined her with my eyes, noting that her skin was a shade pale than normal, and she wasn't quite steady on her feet.

"I'm fine." Her response time was a little slow, too. "He just grazed my shoulder."

"You sure?" Kaz inquired. She nodded.

"Thank you." She told us. "You not only saved me and the other superheroes, but everyone on Earth."

"That's true, isn't it?" I turned and smirked at the guys. "So, not only did we save the people who save people, but we also saved the people who are usually saved by the people who save people."

"You should make t-shirts." Alivia commented, a light laugh in her tone. But the smile fell off her face when Skylar suddenly collapsed, the only thing keeping her from hitting her head on the ground being Ollie's quick reflexes. He caught her as she fell and gently lowered her to the ground, a worried frown on his face.

"I knew she wasn't okay." I knelt down next to Skylar and brushed her hair away from her neck, trying to get a better look at the wound. "Oh, god."

To my horror, black lines were beginning to tattoo her neck, looking as if pulsing, dark veins were bulging out her neck. Kaz, Ollie, and I recognized the symptoms at once – after all, there was only one thing in the universe that could cause that effect. "Guys? What's wrong with her?" Alivia questioned, leaning over us.

"The Annihilator shot her with Black Widower's poison powder." Ollie explained, taking Skylar's pulse with one hand. "It's spreading through her body."

"I'm guessing that's not a good thing." The red head commented. I glanced back at her.

"It means that she's dying." I informed her.

"We have to get her to Mighty Med, now!" Ollie insisted. "She's incredibly weak."

"I'm weak? You can't even do five pushups." Skylar mumbled, evidently still conscious enough to throw insults. Well, that had to be a good sign, right?

"Wow, someone's nasty when she's poisoned." Kaz commented.

"Uh, guys? We have a problem." I looked up to see Alivia holding the wormhole transporter. "The wormhole transporter isn't working."

"What? No!" Ollie stood up and snatched the device away from her. He pressed a few buttons, but the hope fled from his face as quickly as it had come. "The battery…it's dead."

"Oh, no." Kaz began to panic. "The battery's dead, then Skylar's gonna be dead, and we'll be stuck on this planet, and then we'll be dead! It's all over!"

"You should really join the drama club." Alivia muttered under her breath. Ollie glared at him.

"No, you always do this." He accused. "Whenever the going gets tough, you give up."

"That's not true!" Kaz retorted. "I can name tons of times where I didn't give up!"

"Name one." Ollie challenged.

"I'll name ten! There was…" He drew up a blank. "I give up."

"Unlike you, Dani and I won't give up." He sat down next to me, keeping his eyes on Skylar's face. "Dee, you're the creative one in the family. You have an idea?"

"Ollie…" I looked at him in despair. "I don't. I can't think of a solution to this."

"Hapax?" Alivia turned to the elder. "Do you have any powers that could get the wormhole transporter to work?"

"No, but I do have a teleportation power. It's how I got here years ago. I can use it to send you home." He told us. We all exchanged looks.

"That's even better. Thank you!" Ollie nodded at him gratefully.

"I must warn you, though, if I use my powers on a non-mutant, there could be some side-effects." He cautioned us.

"Like what? Shortness of breath?" I guessed. He sucked in a breath.

"Well, shortness." He admitted. "You might have no legs."

Well, that would suck, but it's not like we had another choice. "Skylar's running out of time. It doesn't matter what the risks are, just do it!" My brother exclaimed. Hapax nodded.

"Kneel down before me!" He exclaimed. We all stared at him.

"Why?" Kaz questioned. Hapax shrugged.

"I don't know. It makes me feel more powerful." He admitted. We all knelt down in front of him, Ollie keeping his hand on Skylar's wrist.

"Wait!" Kaz stopped him before he could teleport us away. He grabbed a rock off the ground, smirking as he stuffed it into his pocket. "I want a souvenir."

Hapax rolled his eyes and raised his hands towards us. What happened next was hard to describe. It was like a cloud of rainbows washed over us, and then we were back in Mighty Med, kneeling on the ground of the ER.

"We made it!" I exclaimed, climbing to my feet. Kaz looked down and screamed.

"My legs are gone!" He screamed in horror.

"You're still kneeling." Alivia informed him, offering him her hand. He looked it, then at his arm.

"My hand is gone!" He exclaimed, eyes blowing up wide.

"It's still in your pocket." The red-head assured him. He pulled it out and examined it, relief washing over him.

"Horace!" Ollie shouted, spinning around to look at Skylar. "Anyone!"

"What happened?" Horace demanded, rushing in as Benny, one of the nurses, helped us get Skylar onto a bed.

"Black Widower Poison." I explained in a rush, skipping any unnecessary words. "She's been unconscious for a minute."

"We're losing her!" Horace exclaimed. Kaz, Ollie, Alivia, and I were pushed out of the way by nurses. "She's too weak to administer the antidote. We need to stabilize her first."

We watched as the nurses began to try and save her, injecting her with a shot of adrenaline and attaching her to an IV. But to our horror, her vitals, now shown on the screen above the hospital bed, were still dropping. Then, the green line representing her heartrate, formerly going back and forth erratically, went straight.

"She's flatlining!" Horace shouted.

"Do something!" Ollie shouted at him. I felt him reach for my hand, just like how I always reached for his when I was scared. And just like he did for me, I took it, holding it tight to reassure him that I was here.

"I need defibrillators!" Horace snapped at a nearby nurse. Benny shoved some into his hands before the other nurse could react, the younger man having already been prepared. "Clear!"

He pressed the defibrillators down on her chest, to no effect. By this point, numerous heroes and staff had gathered around, all of them having been affected by Skylar's constant presence in the hospital over the past year. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Spotlight and Alan watching, both shocked by this turn of events.

"Clear!" Horace tried again, but just like before, nothing happened.

"Try again!" Ollie begged him, but we all knew that it was too late.

"She's gone." I whispered, despite myself.

**Barry's POV**

"I know that's Tecton!" Jordan insisted. "There's got to be some way to prove it."

"Jordan, give up. Superheroes don't exist." I told her. Her eyes widened.

"I have an idea! Tecton always heals!" She exclaimed. "I'll just injure him and when he shows no pain and heals right before our eyes, you'll see I'm right."

"Wait, no, Jordan. That's a bad idea." I tried to stop her, but before I could stop her, she grabbed a spear off one of the displays, let out a battle cry, and threw it at him like a javelin. It stabbed the man right in the leg, the weapon sliding through his skin as he screamed in agony.

"AHH!" He screamed, falling onto the ground. Jordan, Gus, and I stared in horror. "You just threw a spear into my leg! What's wrong with you?"

"Everything." I replied, staring at Jordan. She blushed, realizing her mistake.

"I am so sorry!" She apologized. "I thought you were somebody else!"

"That you wanted to throw a spear at?" He demanded, incredulously.

"I'll go find a doctor." Jordan excused herself, sneaking out of the store. I figured there was probably a fifty-fifty chance of her actually coming back.

"I'm going to go try and find a first-aid kit." I told the man before heading into the back. When I came back, carrying a box of bandages I'd found (seriously, they didn't have anything else in this place?), the man had already removed the spear and was holding his hand tightly against his leg. "I don't see any blood."

"I clot easily." He replied quickly. "In fact, I'm not going to need any bandages."

"Are you sure?" I questioned, frowning.

**Dani's POV**

Horace bowed his head as Benny gently covered Skylar's body up with a blanket. I couldn't believe that she was just…gone. She'd been one of my best friends over the past year, and even though she did try to kill me a couple of times, she'd changed my life, all our lives, so much. It just seemed so wrong that she wasn't going to be around anymore.

"I can't believe Skylar's gone." Ollie's voice cracked, his hands shaking as tears sprung to his eyes. Man, if I hurt this much over Skylar's death, then I couldn't imagine what he was going through.

"She can't be." Kaz shook his head, gritting his teeth in denial. He turned to Horace. "Mighty Med is the best hospital in the world, in the universe! There's got to be someone or something that can bring her back!" Horace hesitated, glancing at Skylar's still form.

"Horace, please." I'm not sure what I was asking him to do. Logically, I knew that she was gone, and there was no bringing her back, but I still looked at the man pleadingly. "Please."

He hesitated for a moment longer. "Stand back." He eventually told us, his tone serious. We all took a step backwards as he raised his hands to the sky, his eyes closing shut. "Thanatoi bios! Bioi Thanatos!"

I frowned, recognizing the Latin words for 'Life' and 'Death', but was even more shocked when a strange blue light seemed to float down from the sky, into Horace's hands. A very faint, almost invisible symbol of the staff of Hermes appeared above him, snakes entwining themselves around the staff. Kaz, Ollie, and I recognized it instantly as the symbol of Caduceo, the very same symbol on the puzzle we solved to gain entrance to this hospital, so many months ago. The light flowed from Horace's hands into Skylar's body, and after a brief moment, the machines around her, not yet disconnected by nurses, came to life, beeping at a healthy rhythm.

Horace stumbled away from her, the light dying away, as the beeping grew stronger, and Ollie broke away from us to reach Skylar's side. I didn't just need the machines to tell me that she was somehow alive – the black veins were fading away and I could see her chest moving as she breathed deeply, asleep.

"How…" I turned to Horace, speechless.

"She's alive." Ollie murmured, absolutely stunned. Kaz stared at out boss.

"Horace, how did you do that?" He questioned, confused. "Only Caduceo can bring people back to life."

"I am Caduceo." He announced. Everyone in the room, staff or patient, stopped to look at him.

"As in the legendary healer of superheroes?" Alivia gasped.

"No, as in the legendary milkman of superheroes. What do you think?" Horace looked at her as if she was crazy. He turned his attention back to us. "I couldn't tell anyone my true identity for security reasons. Also, everyone kept asking so many follow-up questions."

I couldn't help myself. "But why didn't you save Skylar right away? Why did you hesitate?"

"Here we go with the questions." He sighed in exasperation. "You see, when I use my powers, they have a terrible, irreversible effect of me. I gain a pound right in the hips!" He glanced at his hips. "So embarrassing!"

"It is noticeable." Alivia agreed. Horace nodded, looking upset.

"Also, I only have the power to restore life five times. I only have one left." He added.

"Where am I?" We snapped our heads in Skylar's direction the moment we heard her groggy mumble. She slowly sat up and look around, confused and a little out of it. "What happened?"

"We're back in Mighty Med. It's a long story, but you're going to be okay." Ollie assured her, his voice gentle and soothing. She nodded, before she looked down and froze.

"Where are my hands?" She screamed, beginning to hyperventilate.

"Under the sheet!" Ollie assured her. She didn't relax until she pulled them out and saw them for herself.

"I have been there; it is terrifying." Kaz told her, trying to be sympathetic. Alivia leaned in close to me.

"I think you and Oliver have similar taste in partners." She commented. I rolled my eyes before sitting down on the edge of Skylar's bed. I looked at my brother.

"Hey, listen…I'm sorry." I didn't really specify what I was sorry for, and to be honest, I wasn't too sure if I was apologizing for wanting to kill Skylar earlier, or the way Ollie and I had been fighting lately, or both, but he seemed to understand.

"Me too." He nodded. He looked at Kaz. "Thanks for not giving up on Skylar, and I'm sorry for saying all those mean things to you."

"Yeah, I'm sorry too, man." Kaz replied. "I should have known you weren't a traitor."

"But in our defense, you're a really good actor. You should join the drama club." Alivia told him. She looked at Kaz. "You too."

"What about me?" I inquired. She laughed. "I'm serious."

"Oh." She was surprised by that. "Uh, Dani, you're kinda a lousy liar."

"Am not!" I retorted.

"You are so." Kaz, Oliver, Alivia, and Skylar told me. I glared at all of them, offended.

"Hey, guys? Since we're all apologizing here, I'm sorry for trying to viciously slaughter you guys all those times." Skylar told us, looking guilty.

"It happens." I shrugged it off. Skylar looked at Alivia.

"And I'm sorry about Jaime." She added. Alivia nodded, neither accepting the apology or rejecting it.

"I should go check on her." She replied. "I'll see you guys later."

She walked away, not saying anything else, and headed for Mighty Max. Skylar looked past us at Horace. "Horace, did you gain weight?"

I had to stop myself from laughing. Well, things were back to normal, now all I had to do was figure out a way to tell Ollie that I was dating his best friend. That should be interesting.

**Barry's POV**

"Hey, I couldn't find a doctor, but I did find this chemical which can eliminate all lingering traces of DNA, including fingerprints." Jordan announced, rushing into the store. I looked up from the comic book in front of me, surprised that she came back. She looked around, confused as to why I was the only one in the store. "Where's the guy?"

"Oh, he left." I replied dismissively. She stared at me.

"He left?" She repeated. I nodded.

"Yup. He pulled out the spear, barely let me give him a band aid, though since he wasn't even bleeding he really didn't need one, then requested the mirror of Zalkanikus. Then, before I could give it to him, he changed his mind and left." I explained. That dude had been so weird.

"Weird." Jordan echoed my thoughts. "What about Gus? He's not going to pop out and try to scare me, is he?"

"He left a while ago too. Said something about a giraffe." I replied, flipping the page. Jordan looked at me.

"Since when do you read comic books?" She questioned. I shrugged, not really having an answer for her. "So, I guess superheroes don't exist, huh?"

I didn't answer right away, because that question was eating at my mind. Superheroes didn't exist, they couldn't exist, but that guy…he didn't bleed. I knew basic first aid, I knew that there was no way that the spear didn't hit an artery. Pulling it out like that, he should have bled out in the store. But there wasn't a single drop. That wasn't humanly possible. "I guess not." I replied to Jordan as I reached for my next comic book: The Adventures of Tecton, Issue 2.


	7. Future Tense

**Oliver's POV**

I sighed, leaning on the counter at Mighty Med. After a very long, hard few weeks, everything was back to normal. Skylar, now good again, was in the rec room, trying to relax. Jaime was out on a mission, ready to get back in the world and do some good in the world after he brief stint as a villain. Dani was on her break, but not far away – she and Alivia were sitting on two empty gurneys across the room, talking to each other in whispers. It was weird to see my sister doing that – acting like an actual teenage girl – but it was also fairly amusing to.

As for Kaz and I, we were spending our breaks the way we usually do – me reflecting on how crazy our lives are, and Kaz playing mindless video games.

"What a week," I commented to my best friend, "We travelled to an alien planet, saved Skylar's life, and almost died, like, five times. It's nice to be home, safe and sound."

I sighed. "I'm bored."

"Don't distract me." Kaz told me, not looking up from his game. "I'm using a cheat code to get the high score on this video game." There was a series of beeps coming from the game and he grinned. "I did it! The high score – I achieved my life's goal!"

He was only happy about it for a moment, though. "I'm bored."

I stared at him. "Kaz, you can't use a cheat code to get the high score!" I protested. "That's cheating."

"Yeah. That's what cheat codes are for – to cheat." He looked at me like I was an idiot. "Otherwise, they'd have a different name, like 'honesty codes' or 'Larry Finkle'."

"You need to be careful, Kaz. Everything you do in life determines the kind of person you become." I warned him. "Today, it's cheating on a video game, tomorrow it's cheating on a test, and the next thing you know, you're a homicidal maniac."

"That story took a really dark turn." Dani commented, walking over as Kaz stared at me. She glanced at him. "I see you're the one receiving Ollie's lecture of the day. Sucker."

I chose to ignore that last comment. "Look at me! I do good deeds all the time, and who knows? I could be the next president!" I grinned, reaching for my wallet. "I do have the perfect face for being on money."

I showed them to two bills I'd created online. "Which looks better? Wig, or no wig?"

"Wig." "No wig." They both replied. They looked at each other, surprised by the other's answer, but didn't comment on it, mostly because they didn't have a chance.

Before any of us could say anything, a beam of light appeared before us and a tall man with black hair and a familiar-looking face suddenly appeared. The light died down as he pulled out a circular mirror-like object, frowning at it.

"Uh…what the heck?" Kaz questioned, staring at the man. The stranger grinned. "Who're you?"

"I'm you! Kaz, from the future!" He smirked at us. "S'up?"

S'up? Really? "I'm here on an important mission." Future Kaz continued.

"Okay, hold up. Who are you really?" My sister questioned skeptically. "I mean, sure you look a lot like Kaz, and you look you're from the future, and you did just teleport in here…"

"I buy it." I commented, glancing at her. She nodded.

"Yeah, me too." She agreed after a moment. Kaz shook his head.

"Well I don't." I was surprised. Usually he would be the first to fall for something like this. He looked at his future self suspiciously. "How do I know you're really me?"

"I can do a terrible impression of a robot." Future Kaz offered before swinging his arms stiffly, like a robot. "I am a robot, beep-boop-bee-boo…"

"You really are me!" Kaz beamed excitedly. "This is so cool! And I'm so glad I'm not bald; that was a real concern."

"This is so weird." Dani commented. I nodded.

"I have so many questions." I told him. "What's the future like?"

"Pretty much the same as it is now." Future Kaz replied. "Except we're ruled by giant insects. You know what though? They're actually doing a pretty good job."

"Cool." I grinned. Future Kaz nodded.

"Anyway, I was sent here to stop somebody from turning into a villain in the future and destroying the world."

"Cool." Dani replied. "Who's the villain? Wait, let me guess…Alan!"

"Nope, Oliver." Future Kaz corrected. I stared at him, confused.

"Uh, what?" How could I be evil? "That's impossible…I-I have fancy return address labels. What kind of villain has fancy return address labels?"

"Slaughtermaster." Kaz, Dani, and Future Kaz all replied at the same time.

"Other than Slaughtermaster!" I snapped. Future Kaz held out his circular object. I had thought it was a mirror at first, but now, upon closer inspection, I realized it was a kind of tablet. The only difference between the ones we have now and this one was the shape of it, and the Borromean ring symbol on the back of it, likely supposed to be some sort of company logo.

"See this news report? This is Oliver twenty-five years from now." He told us, showing us the image. I blanched at it, horrified. It was me, of that I had no doubt, but I was sitting on a dead body with a paddle in my hands, like I was in a boat or something.

"Ollie! That is not the proper way to use a canoe!" Dani scolded, as if that were the worst thing wrong with that picture.

"Oh, check out this headline: Approval Rating at All-Time High for George W. Bug." Kaz offered, trying to be a little positive. I, meanwhile, was stricken.

"So I really do become a villain." My god, how could my life turn out so bad?

"Don't worry, Oliver." Future Kaz assured me. "I work for the New League of Heroes, and they sent me here to stop you from doing the one thing that triggers the events that turn you evil."

"Good." I had a chance, at least. "What's the one thing?"

"I probably should have asked that before I left…" Future Kaz hummed. My Kaz chuckled.

"Yeah, he is definitely me." He sounded amused.

"You forgot to ask?" Dani crossed her arms, looking at Future Kaz skeptically. He rolled his eyes.

"Don't give me that look. I just wanted to use the time machine before Calla could change her mind." He defended himself.

"Who's Calla?" I questioned, confused. Future Kaz frowned, then his face cleared.

"Oh, right. You don't know her yet." He nodded to himself. "Uh, she's a scientist. A scientist who really hates it when I borrow her tech."

"Let me guess, we always break it?" Kaz guessed. His future self nodded.

"Every time." He admitted.

"Doesn't your computer have all the information?" I questioned, gesturing. He shook his head.

"No, it doesn't give me all the details." He explained. "It only tells me when I've changed the future. Oh, and it also levitates! Watch!"

He dropped it into the air, but instead of hovering, it hit the ground, cracking the screen. "I think I get why your scientist friend doesn't let you borrow her stuff." I commented.

"Maybe it was the other one that levitates." He shrugged, picking it off the ground. He swiped his hand over the now cracked screen. "Meh, it still works. Good enough."

"So, how will you know if you've stopped Ollie from turning evil?" Dani questioned.

"I'll just use my common sense." Future Kaz replied.

"We're doomed." Kaz decided, shaking his head.

"Wait, I have a question." Dani interrupted. "You're working for the New League of Heroes, and Ollie's evil. Where am I?"

"I have no idea." Future Kaz replied. Dani frowned. "We haven't talked in years."

"Really?" Kaz seemed pretty upset by that. Future Kaz nodded and addressed Dani.

"Well, Oliver turned evil, and then we broke up, and by time the bugs took over, you were just like 'Screw this, I'm out' and you took the wormhole transporter and bailed. Aftershock thinks you're somewhere on Zandor, but I'm not really sure."

"Whoa, hold on, you guys broke up?" I questioned, confused. That would mean that they would have had to have been dating in the first place, which would be weird. Both Kaz and Dani froze. "When do you guys start dating?"

"I'm pretty sure we already are…" Future Kaz looked back at them, then his eyes widened. "Wait, are we still lying to him about that?"

"Uh, guys?" I looked at them, but neither my sister nor my best friend would meet my gaze. "Are you two dating?"

"…Maybe." Kaz admitted after a second. I stared at them. Kaz and Dani, together? My best friend dating my sister? I'm not sure what was worse – the fact that they were together, or the fact that they'd been lying to me about it.

"Seriously?" I demanded, staring. I looked at my sister sharply. "So Kaz is who you've been sneaking out to see?"

"Ollie-" She began, but I shook my head and cut her off.

"You lied to me. Both of you." I added, glaring at Kaz as well. "I can't believe you!"

"C'mon, man, we knew how you'd react like this." Kaz defended their decision. "Why do you think we didn't tell you?"

"I'm only pissed because you lied about it! I thought we didn't lie to each other." That was more directed at my sister than Kaz. Kaz lied all the time, though usually not about stuff this big, but Dani and I had always had such a strong sibling relationship because we trusted each other. How could I trust her now, after I find out that she's been dating my best friend behind my back for who knows how long?

"Uh, guys? It happened." Future Kaz interrupted. We all looked at him. "The one thing, it happened."

"Wait, so you guys lying to me turns me into a villain?" I questioned. He shook his head.

"No, you getting mad about it turns you into a villain." Future Kaz corrected. His younger self frowned.

"How?" He asked.

"Well, it's the first step in a chain of events that turns him into a villain." Future Kaz explained.

"What's the next link?" I questioned, trying to get back to the important topic. I could be mad at Kaz and Dani later, when I wasn't worried about turning homicidal.

"That. Asking that question." Future Kaz replied. I scoffed. "Followed by a scoff."

"So that's it? I'm a villain now? Because of them?" I pointed at Kaz and Dani.

"Hey, whoa, no. Not our fault. You're the one who's overreacting." Dani retorted.

"I'm not talking to you." I snapped, shutting her up.

"I'm going to grow up to become a villain?" I questioned, looking directly at Future Kaz. He shook his head.

"No, of course not." For a moment, I was relieved. "You're not going to grow up at all." Then, he pulled a small, high-tech handgun, also with the Borromean ring symbol on the side of it, out of his back pocket. "See, if I couldn't stop you from turning evil, Plan B of my mission is to terminate you."

I glanced between him and the weapon, shocked. Kaz was supposed to be my best friend, still was, despite him lying to me, and yet here was, ready to kill me just to fulfill some mission.

"I can't believe this." Kaz, the present version of him, commented before grinning widely. "How did I get such a cool job in the future?"

"Kaz!" Dani exclaimed, eyes wide and horrified. Both of them looked at her.

"What?" They questioned. She hesitated, then pointed past their shoulders.

"Ooh! Shiny!" She exclaimed. Both of them turned to see what was so shiny, and she grabbed me and present Kaz by the back of the shirts and dragged us towards the door.

**Skylar's POV**

It was a little weird, being back at Mighty Med, I had to admit. But after all that time spent with the Annihilator, it was nice to be home…well, as close to home as I was going to get without my powers.

I smiled when I ran into Alan in the rec room. I'd tried to find the rest of my friends here, but they were all nowhere to be found. Even Alivia, whom I could have sworn I spotted earlier, was MIA. But hey, at least I had Alan. Though, come to think of it, that wasn't much of a comfort.

"It feels so good not being evil anymore." I commented to him. "It's really freed up time in my schedule for me to do my scrapbooking."

"I guess you don't have time in your schedule to come up with more interesting stories." He commented dryly, walking away. I shrugged it off, and walked over to Mesmira.

"Hey, how's it going?" I greeted her. She just glared at me, and motioned between me and the eye in her hand to signify that she was watching me. A little surprised, I moved on, heading over to Surge, He was always good for a fun time. "Surge, up top!" I exclaimed, raising my hand for a high-five. But instead of giving me an ordinary high-five, he silently electrocuted me and stormed off before I could recover.

I frowned, hurt. Everyone in Mighty Med seemed to be avoiding me, or being fairly mean to me. I looked around for someone, anyone, I thought would actually talk to me, and eventually, my gaze landed on Spotlight. The older hero was near the refrigerator, one hand on the wall as he chatted up Nurse Amelia.

"Spotlight." I walked up to him. He sighed, and stepped away from his conversation with the nurse, but he clearly wasn't happy to.

"Yes?" He questioned, sounding annoyed. I frowned.

"Why is everyone mad at me?" I asked, concerned.

"You do remember the part where you turned evil, turned half the people here evil, and then hospitalized the other half, right?" He questioned, giving me a look. I looked away, wincing at the look in his eyes. Right, I'd been trying to forget about that.

"But you're not mad at me, right?" I asked, hopefully. He raised an eyebrow. "You're not hurt, and you didn't get turned evil! What could I have possibly done to you?"

"You turned my best friend, Surge, evil," he nodded at the electrokinetic hero across the room, "who attacked Spark, who also happens to be my friend, before you turned her evil."

"I'm sorry, okay? I didn't ask for the Annihilator to turn me evil, and I would never hurt Spark, Surge, you, or any of my fellow heroes on purpose, and you know that." I protested. Spotlight sighed.

"Try convincing everyone else that; you're the most hated person in this hospital." He chuckled darkly. "Alan's loving it."

I frowned. "Why?"

"Because he used to be the most hated person here." Spotlight explained. He glanced at the door leading out of the rec room, where Nurse Amelia was waiting. "Now if you excuse me, I've got a phone number to score."

I rolled my eyes as he strutted over to his girl-of-the-week, shaking my head. Thankfully, I wasn't left alone for long, as Alivia walked in a moment later. "You don't hate me, right?" I asked her hesitantly. Thankfully, she shook her head.

"Skylar, no one hates you…" She trailed off, watching as several heroes and nurses practiced throwing darts, the headshot of Alan that they used to use having been replaced with a headshot of myself. "Correct, I don't hate you. Them on the other hand…"

I looked at them in despair. How was I going to make things right?

**Oliver's POV**

To my surprise, Dani led us straight towards the Domain. "Why would we come to the Domain?" Kaz questioned as we walked in. "It's such an obvious place for future me to look for us."

"It's too obvious." My sister reasoned. "He'll never come here because he'll think that we believed it was obvious. We'd have to be idiots to come here…" Her eyes widened. "Crap."

"I knew you'd come here." Future Kaz declared, pushing open the door and walking into the store. "It was so obvious!"

I sent Dani a look, and she smiled sheepishly. "I really have to stop overestimating Kaz's intelligence."

"Yeah, we'll probably survive longer that way." Even Kaz agreed with her on that.

"Okay, you have three options." Future Kaz announced, once again aiming his weapon at me. "You can be sucked into a black hole, I can throw you into a black hole, or I can release you,"

"Release me!" I exclaimed, taking the third option.

"Into a black hole." Future Kaz finished. I glared at him.

"You paused on purpose!" I accused. He shrugged, not denying it. I turned to his younger self. "Kaz, talk to yourself! Convince Future You not to terminate me!"

"Alright, I'll do my best, but as you know, my best is, like, a D+." Kaz replied. He walked over to his future self and headed towards the door where they could talk in private.

"Ollie?" My sister asked after a moment, her voice soft. I sighed and looked at her, remembering why I was mad at her. "Look, I'm sorry that you're upset, but…look, I really like Kaz, and I have for a long time, and he likes me-"

"I'm not upset because you two are dating." I told her. She raised an eyebrow. "I'll admit, I'm not thrilled about it – it's weird, Dee. But you lied to me."

"Technically, you never once asked 'Hey Dani, are you dating Kaz?'." She pointed out. I crossed my arms. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Kaz and Future Kaz arguing, with a lot of hand pointing.

"Alright, then you hid it from me. What happened to us having no secrets? I tell you everything!" I reminded her. She sighed.

"We're growing up, Ollie. We're not always going to be able to tell each other everything." She told me. I opened my mouth to object. "But you're right; we should have told you about this. It was just…complicated."

"Complicated." Well, I suppose that would be the right word. I sighed. "Were you ever going to tell me?"

She sighed. "I don't know." She admitted. "At first, we wanted time to figure it out, and then, like, a week later, Skylar started trying to kill us, and there was never a good time."

"You could have made the time." I muttered, remembering the numerous nights Dani and I had argued about her sneaking out. I knew now that she'd been sneaking out to see Kaz, and they'd both lied about it.

I didn't know who I was more annoyed with: Kaz or Dani. Dani and I had always had the perfect sibling relationship – we had no secrets, we covered for each other with our Mom, and even when we disagreed, we rarely fought. But Kaz was my best friend, and he was dating my sister. I knew Kaz better than anyone, and if he was actually choosing to put our friendship at risk by dating her, he really had to be into Dani, and for a long time. He should have told me; I knew about every other girl he'd ever been into. That's what best friends were for!

My train of thought was interrupted as Kaz walked back over to us. "So, is he going to send me into a black hole?" I questioned.

"Actually, that never came up." Kaz admitted, frowning. Dani and I both stared at him.

"Then what was that whole argument about?" My sister questioned.

"The proper way to angrily point your finger." He grinned in response. I stared at him, wondering how someone could be as stupid as he was sometimes, then pushed past him to address the time traveler.

"Future Kaz, c'mon. It's me! We're best friends! Partners in crime!" I tried to remind him. He shook his head.

"Actually, we haven't been best friends since you found out I was dating Dani." He replied. I glanced at Kaz and Dani, both of whom despaired at the news. Dani looked downright guilty, obviously thinking it was her fault, and Kaz looked horrified at the very thought. "And your new partner in crime is the villain Skullface. You're hilariously mismatched; you like things to be neat and he has a skull for a face."

He chuckled once, then pulled out his weapon again.

**Skylar's POV**

I paced the room, waiting for the other heroes in the hospital to come back to the rec room from the cafeteria. The Human Blade stood behind a table of fruits, waiting a lot more patiently than I was.

"It's going to be fine, Skylar." Alivia told me reassuringly, from her spot on the couch. I nodded and glanced at the door as it swung open. Alan walked in and headed straight for Alivia.

"Hey, Geminus! Guess what? I walked up to Gamma Girl earlier, and instead of scrambling my insides with gamma rays, she only shoved me into a wall!"

"Well look who's Mr. Popular." Alivia chuckled, smiling a lit. I frowned, still not really sure how she and Alan ended up being some definition of friends.

"Skylar, what are you doing?" Alan questioned, looking at me, then at the table. I smiled.

"I paid the Human Blade to make free smoothies for everyone." I explained. "That way, I won't be the most hated person in Mighty Med anymore!"

"WHAT? No! You can't!" Alan demanded. Alivia and I both stared at him. "I mean, I wouldn't give everyone free smoothies if I were you."

"That's because you're stingy and hate happiness." I replied.

"True, but the bigger issue is…people hate smoothies." He told me. "They're too smooth and too delicious, and people hate too much of anything."

I looked at him. "You're crazy."

"Too crazy." He pointed out. "That's why people hate me, or used to."

"Sure." I rolled my eyes. Just then, the rest of the heroes walked into the rec room.

"Hey guys." I approached them. "The Human Blade is going to make you all fresh smoothies, my treat."

"Sweet!" Surge pushed past me on his way towards the table. Spotlight chuckles and followed his best friend, but not before patting me on the shoulder. The rest of the heroes gave me smiles as they lined up.

I smiled as the Human Blade raised his arms, each with a set of knives at the end of them instead of hands, and the blades began to spin as she chopped fruit.

Suddenly, something hit me from behind and I stumbled forward, right into Surge. Surge, unprepared to be hit from behind, reached out for something to keep his balance, and accidently grabbed the Human Blade's shoulder. Between the Human Blade's own power, and the electrical boost from Surge, the Human Blade's blade-hands went out of control and flew off his arms. They flew across the room, one cutting off Solar Flare's ponytail before hitting the doors to the rec room, and the other chopping Lizardman's tail clean off before imbedding itself in the wall.

"Skylar! Look what you did!" Philip exclaimed. "Why id you push Surge like that?"

"I-I didn't!" I protested.

"Someone could have lost a body part that doesn't grow back!" Philip continued.

"I didn't push him!" I told him, but nobody believed me.

"I saw you." Philip retorted. "And you cut off Solar Flare's ponytail!" I looked back to see the blonde hero glaring at me, her ponytail clutched in her right hand. "Now she looks like a pony with no tail! That's standing on two legs, and wearing a Solar Flare costume!"

And then it was even worse than before, with everyone hating me more and more. They closed in on me and I did the first thing I could think of – run.

I bolted out the door and into the hall, the other heroes right on my tail. I wasn't able to lose them until I slipped into one of the unused operating rooms. I waited until I knew they were gone, then slid down the wall to the floor, tears prickling in the corner of my eyes.

How could I let this happen? How could I screw up so badly that I would lose everyone in my life? Sure, I had Oliver, Dani, and Kaz, but it wasn't the same. They were my friends, but they could never understand what it meant to be out there, fighting bad guys and saving the world the way my fellow heroes did. It was that special bond between all of us that I cherished, and I screwed it up. If I hadn't tried to fight the Annihilator on my own that one time, if I had stopped him from turning me evil, none of this would have happened.

Well, I guess it was too late for me to fix any of that. Then, I guess it was time to really give them something to be angry about.

**Oliver's POV**

"Kaz, please! Don't do this!" I pleaded with my best friend's future self. "I'll give you anything you want! You want money? Wig or no wig?" I started reaching for my wallet, but he spoke up before I could pull it out.

"We don't have money in the future. It's a purely pollen-based economy."

I gulped nervously and backed up as far as I could, until my back hit the cashier's counter. I reached back for the first thing I could reach – a spray bottle full of cleaning spray – and sprayed it at Kaz. I figured, maybe if I could distract the older one, I could run.

"Hey, that's my second favorite shirt!" "That's my third favorite shirt!" They both protested. Younger Kaz looked up at Future Kaz, confused.

"Third favorite shirt?" He repeated. Future Kaz grinned.

"Yeah, we get a really cool shirt next year." He explained.

"Something to look forward to!" My Kaz grinned. Future Kaz went to raise his weapon again, but suddenly, his tablet beeped. He looked at it, surprised.

"Hey! It looks like spraying that shirt changes the future! Oliver doesn't grow up to become a villain anymore!" Future Kaz exclaimed. I sagged in relief.

"Thank god." I murmured. But, my relief was only short-lived, because before my eyes, Future Kaz's entire image changed. A dark beard began to grow rapidly, and his clothes morphed from normal, everyday stuff to a dark, menacing-looking cloak.

"But now I'm a villain!" He exclaimed. My Kaz and Dani both stared at him, stepping closer to me. "Now, if you excuse me, I have some unfinished business to attend to. Staring with…" He looked around and swiped a Crusher action figure off a nearby display. "Buying this action figure!"

He pushed past us and placed a handful of pollen on the counter, then raised his chin. "Now, to wreak havoc on the city!" He declared before rushing out of the store.

"I'm a villain? This is terrible!" Kaz exclaimed.

"On the bright side, that action figure is probably worth ten times as much pollen in the future." I offered.

"I don't want to grow up to be a villain!" Kaz continued, ignoring me. "I want to grow up to be one of those wacky guys who stand outside car dealerships doing this!" He began to wave his arms around wildly.

"Those are just dancing balloon men." Dani informed him, frowning. He frowned.

"They are?" He sounded pretty disappointed. Dani and I both nodded. "This is the worst day ever!"

Then I noticed it; the slow appearance of black chin hairs on his chin. "Um, Kaz. Your chin."

He reached up to scratch it, but stopped when he felt the hairs. "You know what this means?" Dani questioned.

"I have stubble!" Kaz beamed brightly. "I have stubble; this is the BEST day ever. But my shirt's still wet. This is the WORST day ever!"

He pulled off his shirt and began to turn it inside out. "Future you said he had a score to settle, but where would he go?" Dani questioned. I looked at Kaz.

"Quick! Think of everything you hate!" I ordered. He looked at me, displeased.

"Do I have to?" He questioned, before pulling his shirt back on. "You know I hate thinking."

"I know where he's going!" Dani and I came to the same conclusion at the same time.

**Skylar's POV**

Alan stopped me in the hall before I could walk into the rec room with the massive laundry cart full of presents. "What is that?" He questioned, looking at the pile of presents.

"I'm going to give presents to all the heroes and staff at Mighty Med." I announced.

"WHAT?" He demanded, shocked. "You can't do that! It's impossible to buy friends – I know, I've tried."

I laughed bitterly. "Oh, these aren't nice presents." I assured him. "I got people the most hurtful gifts I could think of. For Horace, a video of bridges being destroyed. For Philip, an oversized hat to make his head feel even smaller."

"But then people will hate you more than they already do." Alan frowned. I nodded.

"I don't care. I've had so much bad stuff happen to me this year: losing my powers, becoming evil, almost kissing Oliver." I wrinkled my nose in disgust at the very thought. "The only good thing in my life was all my friends here at Mighty Med, and now I don't even have that! So, if everyone's going to hate me for no reason, I might as well give them a real reason to hate me."

I steeled myself for the horrible reaction that I knew I was about to get before pushing the cart into the rec room. As expected, everyone was waiting for me. "Attention everyone!" I shouted, placing the gift boxes on the ground. "I've called you all here because-"

"Because I am a maniac and must be stopped!" To my genuine surprise, Alan burst into the room, screaming at the top of his lungs before he began to smash and destroy the presents.

"Alan, what is wrong with you?" I demanded, staring at him.

"I am a maniac and I must be stopped!" He shouted.

"No!" I tried to take one of the presents away from him. "I got everyone together to give them those presents."

"Don't try to stop me!" Alan snapped at me, pulling harder on the gift.

"But you just said 'I'm a maniac and I must be stopped'." Spotlight pointed out, watching us with a gleam of amusement in his eyes.

"Well, I misspoke!" Alan snapped before throwing the present in his hands at a nearby wall. He raised a hand and before I could react, he used his telekinesis to send the cart rolling right into me. I fell into the cart as it rolled across the floor. I quickly sat up, flipping my hair out of my face as I looked over to edge to see Alan destroy the rest of the presents.

"What is wrong with you?" Philip roared, furious. "You didn't just destroy our presents; you ruined all this lovely wrapping paper! And the bows! You, sir, are a monster!"

All the heroes turned on Alan, fury in their eyes. Enough fury, in fact, for them to start throwing darts and knives at a picture of his head, instead of mine. I watched them for a second, then walked over to Alan and pulled him off to the side.

"I know what you did." I told him, getting right to the point. I mean, I couldn't believe he actually did that for me, but it couldn't be more obvious that it was what he intended on happening.

"The elevator smelled like that before I got on! I swear!" He exclaimed in a rush, a guilty look on his face.

"I know you wanted everyone to stop hating me, so you took the bullet yourself." I told him. I glanced at the picture of him. "And the knives and darts. And whatever that guy's throwing." For some inexplicable reason, the Defroster was throwing pale greyish-purple goo at the picture.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Alan lied. I smiled.

"I know you like to act all mean and tough, but deep down, you're kind of a sweetheart." I continued.

"I'm not a sweetheart!" He scoffed.

"I said kind of a sweetheart!" I snapped. Dude, don't ruin the moment!

"Skylar, I only did this because people should do what they're good at, and I'm good at being hated." He insisted. I smiled.

"Well, just know that, even if now you're the most hated person in Mighty Med, not everyone hates you." I pulled him in for a quick hug, then, after giving him one last smile, headed off to find Spotlight and Alivia.

**Oliver's POV**

Sure enough, we found Future Kaz at Logan High, tearing posters and hand-made flyers off the walls in a mad fit. "Dude, really?" Dani questioned, approaching the time traveler.

"This place caused me so much misery that I'm going to tear down every spirit week and pep rally poster in here!" He announced. Dani looked at Kaz.

"Okay, you are a pathetic supervillain." She told him.

"And then send the entire school into a blackhole and erase it from the face of the Earth!" Future Kaz finished.

"Wow, we really do pause a lot." Kaz commented. Future Kaz nodded in agreement.

"You can't destroy the school! There's a basketball game in the gym; there are students here." I told him.

"I don't care." Future Kaz retorted. "That's the number two trait of being a villain: not caring. And I don't care what number one is!"

He reached towards his gun and I sprang into action, lunging at him. However, it appeared that the future version of my best friend was expecting it, as he grabbed me by the back of the shirt and threw me into the nearby lockers. I groaned as my head hit the metal surface and I hit the ground, dazed.

I didn't entirely see what Dani tried to do, but she must have tried something similar, because one second she was on her feet and the next, Future Kaz had flipped her onto her back. She landed on the ground hard, the air rushing from her lungs.

Even Present Kaz tried to stop his future self, swing at his head as hard as he could, but Future Kaz either dodged or blocked everyone of my best friend's blows. "You can't beat me!" He announced, grabbing Kaz's arms and pushing him away. "I'm you. I know every move you've got!"

"Yeah?" Our Kaz smirked, not at all deterred. "Well, I know your every weakness."

He reached forward and grabbed his future self by the ears, pulling as hard as he could. Future Kaz did the same, tugging at Kaz's ears roughly. "Watch the hair!" They both shouted at each other, annoyed.

Eventually, both Kaz and Future Kaz pushed away from each other, realizing that the ear pulling wasn't going to work out. Future Kaz tried grabbing our Kaz, but the younger of the two ducked and pushed him into my locker. Dani's locker swung open a result, the lock having broken last week and she hadn't replaced it yet, and a lacrosse stick and hockey stick fell out, hitting the ground with clangs.

They each grabbed one – Future Kaz taking the lacrosse stick and Kaz taking the hockey stick – and began to use them as weapons, swinging them at each other.

Meanwhile, Dani and I were slowly recovering from the hard hits we took. My sister dragged herself out of the way, crawling slowly with a pained look on her face and one hand held to her tailbone. I snuck around the edge of the lobby, trying to stay out of the way, until I reached Dani's locker.

Dani got there at the same time I did and I handed her the second hockey stick from her locker, while I took the remaining lacrosse stick. "How do you even fit all of these in here?" I questioned rhetorically. She shrugged and looked at the Future and Present Kazes. Future Kaz appeared to be winning, my best friend pinned against the lockers and unable to escape.

"I got this." I muttered, raising my stick high and charging at Future Kaz. I hit him between the shoulder blades, sending him stumbling into the lockers while Kaz bolted to the side. Future Kaz's weapon hit the ground, rattling against the tiles once before going still.

"Kaz!" Dani called, using the hockey stick to pass him the weapon. It slid to his feet, her aim perfectly on point. Our Kaz picked it up and pointed it at his future self just as Future Kaz turned around to face us.

"This thing's fully charged! Stay back, or I'll use it!" He threatened. Future Kaz looked at him warily, knowing that he wasn't lying.

"I've seen the future, and we're a villain." He told his younger self. "Just accept it!"

Kaz took a deep breath, a strange light in his eyes. "Well, maybe I can't change you, but I can stop you from hurting anyone." He announced and then, to my horror, he turned the weapon on himself, aiming it at his own chest.

"Whoa, Kaz…" Dani stopped mid-step, one hand raised cautiously. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to send myself into a blackhole!" He exclaimed, his voice fast and loud, the only thing that betrayed how scared shitless he was of this decision. "That way, I won't exist in the present, and I won't become a villain in the future!"

"Kaz, don't!" I shouted, pushing past both my sister and Future Kaz.

"Oliver, he's threatening to destroy the entire school." He reminded me, his hands shaking.

"Yeah, well we care about you a hell of a lot more than we do school!" Dani retorted. I nodded, agreeing with her.

"Kaz, give me the weapon." I ordered, reaching for it. He flinched backwards, his finger jumping on the trigger. But before he could press it, Future Kaz's tablet beeped again, announcing a change to the future. "Stop!"

Kaz did, eyeing the table. Future Kaz looked at it, surprised. But we didn't need to read the headlines to know what had happened – Future Kaz's clothes changed back to normal, and both the future and present version lost their facial hair. "I'm no longer a villain!" Future Kaz grinned.

"Awesome!" Kaz grinned. "What changed?"

"Remember this morning when I told you that your decisions determine the kind of person you become?" I said, smiling. "Well, you're not a villain anymore because you were willing to sacrifice yourself to save others."

"Yeah." Future Kaz nodded, looking at the tablet. "Now Dani's a villain."

"What?" Kaz and I stared at my sister, surprised, while she just looked at Future Kaz.

"You've got to be kidding me." She muttered. Future Kaz grinned.

"I am. Just wanted to screw with you. Apparently, you're now running Theodore Roach's election campaign." He admitted, looking at the headlines. I let out a sigh of relief. At least we didn't have to worry about Dani becoming a homicidal maniac. My sister, on the other hand, looked fairly weirded out that she was running a bug's presidential campaign. "Well, my work here is done. I think; I was never totally sure what Geminus wanted me to do."

"Wait, Liv sent you back here to kill me?" I questioned. Well, she wasn't getting a birthday present now.

"No, Liv said to save you. Nyx was like, 'if it doesn't work out, here's a blackhole gun'." He shrugged.

"I suggest avoiding this Nyx person." Dani commented to me. I nodded in agreement.

"I am so glad I got to meet you." Kaz told his future self, handing over the weapon. "I can't wait to grow up to be you."

"Hey, can you do me a favor?" Future Kaz looked at him imploringly. "Start flossing. You have no idea how much dental work we need."

"I can't make any promises." Kaz replied, shrugging. Future Kaz nodded, having expected that answer, then pressed a button on his tablet. A beam of light appeared next to him.

"Wait, before you go, I have a question." I approached him. "Now that I'm not a villain the future, what am I?"

Future Kaz looked at him tablet. "I don't know, but it turns out, your face is actually on a five dollar bill." I grinned. "Which we use to wipe our butts."

"Again with the pauses!" Okay, now I was going to have to break Kaz of that habit just to ensure he wouldn't do stuff like this in the future.

"Oliver, Dani, Me." He nodded at us in farewell before stepping into the beam of light. The moment he was gone, Kaz looked between Dani and I.

"So, uh…I think we need to talk about, you know…" He chuckled, looking more at me than Dani.

"Look, Ollie. I'm going to say this one more time and that's it." She stated before looking at me. "I'm sorry that you feel betrayed. But Kaz and I are entitled to some privacy, and the only reason we didn't tell you was because we were trying to figure this all out."

"I would have given you your privacy. But you lied to me. You never lie to me." I argued.

"You're seriously going to be pissed at me about this?" She demanded incredulously.

"I'm pissed at both of you for this." I corrected her. She shook her head at me, then closed her eyes.

"Okay, fine. Whatever." She rolled her eyes. "I've got soccer practice in an hour, and I'd like to go home and grab a spare change of clothes first."

"We're not done talking about this." I told her. She nodded.

"Actually, we are." She leaned forward and kissed Kaz on the cheek. "I'll see you later." She told him before stalking out. Kaz and I watched her go.

After a minute, Kaz cleared his throat. "Uh, just to be clear, why aren't you mad at me?"

"Because you're practically a chronic liar." I replied. "But I can't think of a single time Dani has lied to me in the past. About anything. And unlike you, I, apparently, can't tell when she's lying to me."

"But I made out with your sister." He replied, surprised. I wrinkled my nose in disgust. That wasn't really an image I wanted in my head. "Several times!"

"A, gross." I shuddered. "And B, please don't do that in front of me."

"No promises." Kaz replied. He looked at me. "So you're only mad at her? Because, for the record, I was the one who suggested not telling you."

"I figured." I sighed. "Look, I'm just annoyed right now. Give me a couple of days, and we'll probably be back to normal."

"Alright." Kaz nodded. "And we're cool, right?"

"Yeah, we're cool." I assured him.


	8. The Key to Being a Hero

**Kaz's POV**

"Hey." I smiled, walking into Mighty Med to see Dani and Oliver both sitting in Mighty Med. Since Dani was dealing with a patient, and Oliver was busy on the computer, I walked over to Skylar. "Morning."

"Morning." She replied idly, texting on her phone. She looked at me. "It's not fair."

"What's not fair?" I wondered.

"That Clone Master took Liv to the Council of Heroes on Awhara." She pouted. "I've never even been allowed to go, and she's just a sidekick!"

"Whiner." I called her. She glared at me, so I changed the topic. "So, Dee and Oliver still at each other's throats?"

"They're snapping at each other for every little thing." She shook her head. "I mean, Oliver sneezed earlier and Dani accused him of trying to screw up her concentration."

"Please, last night Oliver was blaming Dani because her cat took a piss in his bed." I pointed out, remember the series of texts I'd received from both of them.

"How long do you think it'll last?" Skylar questioned.

"Their last big fight only lasted a couple of days, so probably not long. We just need to ride it out." I replied before approaching Oliver. "Hey, man, what are you doing?"

"Writing a dating profile for my mom." He replied, typing away. I frowned, though I did remember hearing him say before that he needed to do something like this.

"I thought Dani wanted to help you with that." I commented.

"Well, now she doesn't want to help." He muttered. I nodded, though I knew what that meant; the twins weren't even close to calling a truce. "Anyway, lately my mom's been more overprotective than usual, and she keeps hovering, so I need to get her a new boyfriend."

"All you've got so far is 'hovering and controlling mother looking for boyfriend'." I read. He shrugged.

"I'm not great at this stuff." He admitted.

"That's why you should get Dee's help with it. She can BS a paper with ease – I'm sure writing a dating profile won't be that hard." I offered.

"For my mother? Impossible." Dani commented, having been listening in on the conversation.

"At least your mother cares about you." Skylar commented. "My gestation pod never even sends me birthday cards anymore."

"Well, she cares about one of us." Dani retorted. Oliver rolled his eyes, but Skylar just frowned.

"Okay, what's the deal between you and your mother? I've never understood the animosity between you two." She questioned. Dani shrugged.

"Well, Skylar, it's rather simple. Mom was only expecting one kid, not two, and Ollie is the perfect son, and I'm about as far from perfect as you can get." She replied. "Guess which one's the favorite?"

"You're being overdramatic." Oliver chided. Dani looked at him.

"Let's see. You get perfect grades, you never get into any trouble, you always do as you're told, and adults love you. Me, well, I struggle for Cs, I'm always in trouble, I refuse to follow all her orders blindly, and adults mostly think I'm annoying and childish." She listed. "Not to mention, she thinks sports are stupid, and every time there's a school trip, she turns me down. Hell, she won't even let us go visit Dad over the summer."

"That's because he lives in England, and it's expensive to go down there." Oliver pointed out. Dani raised an eyebrow at him.

"Dad's a neurosurgeon, and Mom's the CEO of her business. I don't think money's an issue." She commented. She glanced at me. "Hey, listen. Key Keeper's coming in with an injured leg, but he doesn't really like me, and Jennifer just had Tecton's baby, like, a couple of days ago, and I haven't gotten to see Baby Tecton yet, so could you possibly take care of Key Keeper for me? Please?"

"Yeah, go." I agreed. She smiled happily, gave me a quick peck on the lips, then headed out into the hall. I glanced at Oliver.

"Give her a break – we both know your mom takes it easy on you because she thinks you're the more responsible one." I reminded him just as the doors to the ER swung open and Benny pushed the Key Keeper in on a gurney. I grabbed his chart as they pushed him to the far wall, but because the damage was done to his leg, it was impossible to visibly see the damage without removing the blanket covering his lower half. "What happened to you, Key Keeper?" I questioned, reading the chart. "Is this the work of your nemesis Slaughter Master?"

"He's not my nemesis!" The Key Keeper snapped irritably. He leaned back in the bed, wincing at the pain in his leg. "Did he tell you he was my nemesis? I get to decide who my nemesis is."

I lifted the blanket, raised my eyebrows when I saw the man's misshapen leg. "He turned your leg into the letter 'W'." I pointed out, dropping the blanket. "He should, at the very least, be in the running to be your nemesis."

"Well, I do hate the guy." He replied thoughtfully, scratching at his beard. "He set a trap and attacked e. I was able to fend him off using my Key of Steel, though."

I grinned. "The key that gives you super strength, that makes your body as hard as steel?" I had always loved the Key Keeper's comics, so I knew more about him than I did some other heroes.

"It also unlocks every bathroom in the world." The Key Keeper added, smirking. "Yesterday, I used on at Buckingham Palace. I just walked right in, no one even tried to stop me."

I chuckled. That sounded awesome! "We will have you patched up and back to fight crime ASAP." I promised the hero. To my surprise, he sighed.

"I don't want to fight crime. I'm sick of it." I stared at him. "When my mentor, the seventh Key Keeper, passed the Key of Steel on to me, I gave up everything to be a hero. Now, I just want to go back to a normal life and follow my true passion: watching TV."

"Well, that is the dream, isn't it?" I joked. He looked at me.

"It's been years…Is Full House still on?" I ignored his question, getting an idea of my own. This was perfect!

"Give me the key." I suggested. "Let me be the new Key Keeper."

For a while now, I'd been contemplating the idea of getting my own superpowers. I mean, I worked with superheroes every day, it seemed only natural that I would one day join them in their fight against supervillains, and ever since I found out that I worked for the 'New League of Heroes' in the future, I'd been thinking about this more and more.

"I don't know…Bestowing the key is a once-in-a-generation decision." He commented, looking at me skeptically. "I need to find a person who proves himself worthy and fearless and honorable."

"Okay, I'll prove myself worthy." I told him, even though I had no idea how to do that. "What do I have to do? This?" I posed. "Or this?" I did the same pose, but this time pointing at something in the distance.

"Can we discuss this later? I need to make a phone call." He told me, pulling a cell phone out from his pocket. "Also, I'm going to need someone to put my kneecap back on."

I grimaced as he pulled his kneecap out from under the bed and placed it in my hands. Part of it was still covered in blood and I wrinkled my nose. Some days, I really hated this job.

**Oliver's POV**

As per usual on a Saturday afternoon, my sister and I were hanging at the Domain, waiting for our next shift at Mighty Med. Sure, we could pick up some extra hours, but we'd already worked through the night and though we weren't tired, we didn't feel like going back for a while. It was surprisingly empty today, though. After Wallace and Clyde got arrested, Gus had his overly-rich father buy out the Domain and now he and Barry were running the place together. Which usually meant that Dani, Kaz, Skylar, Alivia, and I could come and go as we pleased, regardless of store hours. It worked out pretty well for us, since it meant that we could just come and chill in here between shifts, even if it was the dead of night, but it also meant that Barry and Gus were hardly here, often just expecting us to lock up when we were done.

I glanced up from my comic book to look at Dani. She sat on the stairs by the door, reading her own comic book. I opened my mouth to say something, but then decided against it and looked down at my comic book. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her look up at me before looking down again.

By the point, I think we both realized how stupid this fight was. I mean, I knew she felt bad about lying to me, and to be honest, her and Kaz dating wasn't so bad. Kaz, at least, had made the effort to keep the PDA to a minimum around me, and even when they did kiss, it didn't turn into a full-on making out session like I'd expected. And, if they were both telling me the truth about how long they'd been together, they'd been making sure to keep me included so that our friendship didn't suffer, so all in all, things were working out for all of us. Now, Dani and I just had to figure out how to apologize to each other.

Except we couldn't. It had been three days, and we were still bickering like an old married couple or something. I couldn't help it – it was just like everything she did was getting on my nerves right now. And to be fair, if she had remembered to clean Katy's litter box, the cat probably wouldn't have used my bed as a bathroom. But as it was, neither of us could seem to take that first step towards forgiveness, so we were kinda at a stand still.

I looked up as the door to the Domain opened, then quickly shoved my comic book under the seat cushions of the couch when I realized it was my mother. Dani was quick to react too, sliding the comic under a stand before standing up.

"Mom?" I demanded. I had thought she was working from the office today – she was dressed for it, at least. She was wearing a nice jacket and dress pants, along with a white blouse, and she had clearly taken extra care with her hair today, the blonde locks flowing behind her. All of this said that she wanted to make sure she looked presentable for something, but her office was downtown, almost an hour and a half by car. What was she doing here in the middle of the afternoon?

"What are you doing here?" Dani questioned, glancing at me as if I would know.

"I came to see you two." My mother paused and looked at Dani. "That's the outfit you picked out to wear today?"

Dani subconsciously crossed her arms over her ACDC tank top, biting her lip to keep herself from snapping back. My mother sighed. "Danica, you know how I feel about those horrid bands." She looked at me. "And Oliver, that shirt does not go with those pants, or any pants for that matter!"

"Shouldn't you be at work? Insulting your employee's clothes and destroying their self-confidence?" I questioned.

"That's what's great about being the boss. I can do whatever I want, like leave in the middle of the day to come visit my children, who should be listening to those Mandarin tapes I bought them instead of reading picture books," she pulled my comic out from the couch cushions, then looked at a pair of cardboard cutouts with distain, "and hanging out with cardboard men."

"There are cardboard women too." Dani pointed out.

"Anyway, I see you've gotten a lot of views on your dating profile." I commented, trying to change the subject.

"Actually, that's why I'm here. First, to bring you new shirts." She pulled two shirts out of her bag – a clean, white polo for me, and a dark red blouse for Dani. She gave them to us before continuing. "And I've come here to thank you for posting that profile for me. I've met the most charming man, and we've already been on three dates."

"That profile was created yesterday." Dani looked at her, surprised.

"I'm a very busy woman, Danica." I grabbed an apple from my lunch as she spoke. "When I see something I want, I take it. By the way, I want that."

She snatched the apple from my hand and took a bite out of it. I chose not to comment on it. "We're happy for you, mother." Dani took a breath, forcing herself not to get annoyed by our mom's use of her full first name. "And we totally understand if you need to spend less time with us and more time with your new boyfriend, because your happiness means everything to us."

"As well it should." Mom agreed. "Now, we'll be having dinner tonight with my new gentlemen friend. I want you to meet him."

Whoa, it wasn't supposed to reach that stage. I had just been hoping for some guy to distract her for a bit. "I don't know if that's necessary."

"Of course it is." Mom snapped. "Now, the meeting is set for 7:00, but we'll have a pre-meeting meeting at the house for 6:30 for I can sign off on your outfit because of…" She waved her hand at me and Dani. "this."

"Yes Mother." "Got it." Dani and I replied.

"Good." She nodded, not recognizing the annoyance in both my and my sister's tones. She looked at the half-eaten apple. "I don't want this anymore."

She placed the apple back in my hand before walking out, clearly pleased with herself.

**Kaz's POV**

Well, with Alivia off planet, I figured there was only one person I could go to for help in becoming the new Key Keeper: Skylar.

"Hey, Skylar," I found her hanging out in the rec room, her favorite spot to chill while me, Dani, and Oliver were either working, or supposed to be at home with our families. "Do me a favor."

"Okay." She smiled brightly at me before grabbing a paper bag off the table and pulling it over my head. I heard her laugh. "Now I'm doing everyone a favor."

"No, I'm serious." I pulled the bag off my head, crumpled it up, then threw it into the nearby trash can. "I need you to train me to be a superhero."

She scoffed, amused. "Kaz, you'll never be a superhero. You don't have what it takes at being selfless, clever, and virtuous. Pettiness and jealousy don't have any place in the superhero world."

I smirked smugly. Oh, she was going to LOVE this. "Well, I might be getting powers soon." I informed her. "The Key Keeper's retiring, and there's a chance he'll make me his successor."

"What?" As expected, Skylar totally flipped, beginning to kick furniture over and throw garbage cans across the room. "Why you and not me? Not fair, not fair!"

I watched the garbage can hit the ground. "So much for no pettiness and no jealousy."

She looked at me, then took a deep breath. "Okay, Kaz. I see your point." I could right through that fake smile, right down to the fury that was obviously boiling within her. "And I'm happy for you."

"So, you'll teach me everything you know?" I asked hopefully. I couldn't afford to wait for Alivia to get back with her dad.

"Absolutely." She agreed. "But first-"

She reached for the coffee table and threw it across the room, breathing heavily. I looked at her as it crashed to the ground. "You good?"

"I'm good." She agreed.

**Xxx**

"Alright, Kaz." Skylar paced in front of me. "I've set up a practice simulation to demonstrate what to do when you encounter real-life danger."

I looked past her at her little simulation. On the right was a large man, probably a guard, with a dark hood and a massive machete. On the left was a pretty nurse, and in her arms lay the superhero world's newest addition, Benjamin VanOver, or as we all liked to call him, Baby Tecton. The newborn squirmed in her arms, clearly displeased with being out of his bed. I feel ya, kid. I feel ya.

"There's a violent villain over there about to commit a crime." Skylar continued. "The first thing you do is assess the danger, then prioritize the situation, and finally, take action."

"Or we can skip the boring part and just take action." I told her before stalking up to Benjamin. "Hey, you! Baby!" He looked up at me with big, bright blue, curious eyes. "Yeah, you with the blankie and the pacifier! You maybe look all cute and cuddly, but you're not fooling anyone, you stupid baby villain!"

To my surprise, Benjamin started wailing, tears streaming down his little face. "Kaz!" Skylar scolded. "What are you doing? The villain is the scary dude with the giant knife!"

I looked over at the guard with the machete. "Oh. That just seemed too obvious."

**Oliver's POV**

"This is ridiculous." Dani fidgeted in her seat, her hands fiddling with the bottom of the dress Mom made her wear. Honestly, it wasn't a bad dress for her – it was a simple, short-sleeved dress that went down to just above her knees, and though it was flowing in a way that obviously made my sister feel uncomfortable, it was a deep color of purple that went well with her auburn hair. And though I knew that she just plain hated dresses, it was probably a lot less stuffy than the suit Mom had forced me to wear, so I couldn't see why she was complaining.

"Remember, just relax, be yourselves, and have fun." Mom told us. "Shoes." We each pointed a leg out from under the table, allowing Mom to see that we had worn the shoes she'd picked out for us. "Hands." We showered her our hands. "Teeth." Wide smiles were next.

"Is that what your teeth look like?" Mom grimaced. She pulled out her phone and recorded a message. "Reminder: get Oliver new teeth."

I rolled my eyes, but Mom, always fair, moved on to Dani next. "And Danica, if you're going to insist on dyeing your hair that color, please remember to re-dye it every month or two. Your roots are showing."

Dani ducked her head, hands reaching up to her hair as if she wanted to try and hide the tiny bit of blonde that was beginning to show. "Oh, here he comes."

She stood up to greet her new boyfriend. Dani and I had originally opted to stay sitting, since it was easier, but one look at my mother's new 'gentlemen friend' had us both on our feet, shocked to see that it was Horace.

"Oliver? Dani?" Horace looked equally shocked to see us. Mom frowned.

"You three know each other?" She asked, confused. Dani and I were both too shocked to come up with anything, but Horace was quick on the draw.

"No!" He said quickly. "Of course now. I'm just very good at guessing people's names, and weights." He pointed at a nearby customer. "Byron, 280!"

Mom seemed to accept it and pulled him in for a hug. Once he was sure Mom couldn't see his face, Horace looked at us. 'What?' Was the only thing he had time to mouth at us.

"I thought you were bringing your son." Mom frowned as she sat down. I frowned as well, equally confused but for different reasons, as Dani and I took our seats. But Dani just closed her eyes and nodded to herself, clearly have figured it out already.

"I did. He was right behind me." Horace looked around. "Oh, there he is."

For some reason, I was surprised to see that Alan was his 'son'. He walked over to us, licking his sauce stained lips. There was a piece of shrimp in his hands. "I'm sorry I'm late." He apologized. "But there are just so many free samples on all of these tables!"

"This is my son, Alan." Horace introduced. "Alan, this is Bridget, and-"

"Dani" My sister spoke up the moment recognition flooded Alan's face, introducing herself before he could say anything. "And this is my brother, Oliver."

Alan looked like he wanted to question this – I didn't blame him, I was just as bewildered – but Horace forced him to sit down before he could. The beginning of dinner was successfully awkward, Mom trying to initiate conversation between us, but none of us really into it. He kept glancing at us, confused, while Alan was subtly stealing food off other people's plates while we waited for our own meals. I couldn't help but glance between Horace and my mother, wondering what the hell was really going on, because the dating site couldn't have possibly paired them together, while Dani was secretly texting someone underneath the table, forcing her eyes to stay focused on Mom so she didn't get suspicious.

Thankfully, Mom's phone rang sooner than later. "Sorry, it's work." She stood up, giving Horace an apologetic smile. "Why don't my favorite boy and girl," she looked at Dani and I, "get to know my other favorite boy and the boy…" She sighed, shaking her head at Alan, who was off by another table. "the boy who just ate that woman's bruschetta."

She walked away as Alan came back, a disgusted look on his face. "I didn't like he told us." I looked past him to see that he'd put the bruschetta back on the woman's plate.

"Horace, what the hell?" Dani demanded, getting straight to the point.

"Why are you dating our mother?" I hoped he could sense the disgust in my voice.

"It's hard to meet women in my line of work, so I tried an online dating service. When I saw your mother's name, I knew Bridget was the one for me." He explained, smiling. "It has the word 'bridge' right in it."

"Why is Alan pretending to be your son?" Dani questioned. Alan grinned.

"Because women are total suckers for a single dad." He told us. Horace chuckled in agreement.

"We lured your mom in, hook, line, and sinker." He agreed. Dani and I just looked at him sternly. "Of course I care for her deeply. In fact, I love her. I LOVE BRIDGET!"

"Oh my God, he's completely lost his mind." Dani whispered, horrified. I looked at Horace, equally horrified.

"You can't date my mother, Horace." I told him. "First of all, it's just…ugh. Second of all, it's too riSky. What if she finds out about the superhero world?"

"Oliver, Dani, I'm a trained professional." Horace reminded us. "I think I know how to keep from revealing the existence of a super-secret superhero hospital."

"What kind of hospital?" Mom inquired, coming back from her phone call.

"A hospital…to heal my broken heart." Horace smiled at her charmingly. "Because you've been gone so long."

"Aw." Mom cooed. "You're the man of my dreams. If I had dreams; I don't sleep."

**Kaz's POV**

"Key Keeper, I'm ready to prove my worthiness." I announced, walking up to the man. He was still in his hospital bed, though his leg look considerably better.

"Actually-" He went to stop me, but I cut him off. This first part would be very hard on me, so I just wanted to get it over with.

"I'll start by showing that I'm selfless by destroying my most prized possession: this first edition Tecton comic book." I held it in the air, but was unable to destroy it. I'd had this thing for years – it was the first comic book I ever bought. The last thing I wanted to do was destroy it, but it would be worth it to become a superhero. I bit back a pained whimper and tore it in half, dropping the two half to the ground.

"Are you okay?" The Key Keeper asked gently. I nodded.

"Of course I'm okay." I lied, forcing myself to smile. "I'm superhero material. I can withstand all pain, emotional and physical. Watch."

I hesitated, then grabbed a metal tray off a nearby table and slammed it into my face. "Who needs television?" The Key Keeper laughed, oblivious to how much that really hurt. I mean, OW! "I could watch this all day. But unfortunately, I already gave the key to someone else."

"What?" I demanded, angry. I did all that, and for nothing? "Who?"

"Her." He pointed behind me. I turned to see Skylar walking into the ER, a cheerful smile on her face as she flipped the powerful, silver key over in her hands. I glared at her and her smile faded, realizing how furious I was. She then bolted out into the hall. I raced after her, ducking past nurses and behind a gurney in order to cut her off before she could make her escape.

"I can't believe you!" I shouted at her. "You lecture me about the virtues of being a hero, and then you totally snake me?!"

"Look, Kaz, I'm sorry." She apologized, slipping the key into her back pocket. "It's just…you don't know what it's like to have superpowers, lose them, and then get them back only to have them tainted, causing you to almost destroy everything you care about!"

"I almost destroyed everything I care about!" I snapped. "My face!"

She sighed. "Look, I know I was wrong, but can I please keep the key?" She pleaded with me. "It's my only chance to feel like myself again."

Damn it. She was giving me those big brown eyes, with tiny tears creeping into the corners of her eyes. She knew I was a sucker for those! I couldn't say no to them! But I could secretly betray them.

"Fine." I agreed, trying to act reluctant.

"Really?" Her face lit up and she hugged me. "Thank you so much!"

I hugged her back with one arm, the other one quietly slipping into her pocket and removing the key without her knowledge. "You are welcome." I told her, pulling away.

"I guess you did learn something about selflessness and integrity." She told me. I nodded.

"Yeah, I did." I smiled proudly. "At the end of the day, it's all I really need."

She smiled and walked away, happy with how things turned out. "That, and this key." I added once she was out of earshot, flipping the key up into the air and catching it with my hand.

**Xxx**

I headed to the Domain as soon as my shift at Mighty Med was over, excited about my new powers. I knew that Dani and Oliver were supposed to be at dinner with their mom's new boyfriend, but I figured they'd be back soon, if they weren't back already. "Dee? Oliver? I want to show you guys something awesome!" I called, pushing on the door. Unused to my new strength, I accidently removed it right off its hinges. Oops. I quickly placed the door back, confident that no one would find out it was me if I just left it like this.

"Kaz?" I turned around to see Skylar standing behind me, a confused frown on her face. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh, looking for Dee and Oliver." I replied. So, it wasn't a lie; I just didn't tell her WHY I was looking for them.

"You know they're having dinner with their mom, right?" She questioned. I nodded.

"Yeah, but I figured they might be back soon." I replied. "What are you doing here?"

"I felt really bad about snaking the key from you, so I came here to buy you a gift, but the store's closed." She told me. "Anyway, thanks for being so cool about the key thing."

She punched me in the shoulder in a friendly manner, but frowned when my chest made a clanging noise. She knocked on my shoulder, producing the same noise, as if she was hitting metal. Which she technically was. "What's that noise?"

"It's my new armor undershirt." I lied. She looked at me, confused. "Yeah, uh, it keeps the moisture in and the danger out. Now, if you'll excuse me…I have to go scratch my belly button. It's an elaborate process."

I practically ran from away from her, leaving Skylar confused, but oblivious to the fact that I'd stolen the key.

**Oliver's POV**

"No, you're my pookie bear." "No, no, no. You're MY pookie bear." After about twenty minutes of listening to my mom and Horace say things like this, I was ready to stab myself in the brain. Apparently, Dani had had enough as well.

"Excuse me, I need to use the ladies room." Dani stood up and headed towards the bathroom. On the way, she caught me by the arm. "He does too!" She called over her shoulder, dragging me with her. The moment we were in the hall leading to the washrooms, out of sight and earshot of everyone else, she let me go. "Alright, I'm calling a ceasefire. If Mom and Horace are gonna…" She shuddered dramatically. "I'm gonna need some back-up."

"Truce?" I offered her my hand. She shook it.

"Truce." She agreed.

"We need to stop this." I decided.

"Thank you!" She sounded exasperated. "This is weird and creepy and such a bad idea."

"Not to mention, we'd have to spend more time with Alan." I added. This time, it was me that shuddered.

"How do we break them up without screwing ourselves in the process though?" She wondered. "Remember, he is our boss. And he can and probably will cube us if we sabotage them."

"I have a bad idea." I told her. She looked at me, intrigued and excited just by the words 'bad idea'. "Just let me handle it, and don't get involved unless my lips actually start to turn blue, deal?"

She looked a little concerned now, but nodded slowly. "Okay...Nothing too stupid, alright?"

"Promise." I agreed before following my sister back to the table.

"Do you two always go to the washroom together?" Alan questioned, looking at us.

"Their whole lives." Mom answered before we could. "You know it took Oliver seven years to get through potty training?"

Dani nearly choked on her drink, she laughed so hard. I glared at her and she gave me an apologetic look, quickly covering up her laugh with a cough. She looked at Mom and Horace. "Just a thought, but maybe you guys ought to slow things down a tad. You know what they say: a fire that burns too bright fizzles out too quickly."

"My passion for your mother will burn for a thousand years." Horace assured her, much to Dani's disgust. He looked at my mother. "Of course, you'll be dead by then, but I'll always carry your picture in my wallet."

"Oh, Horace." Mom smiled at him. "You have the most delightful sense of humor. It's what I love about you. And what I don't love about you, I will change."

"You'll try." Dani muttered. Mom gave her a stern look, but I could see where my sister was coming from. Everything about herself that Dani was proud of – her incredible soccer skills, her life-long desire to travel the world, her personal style, and her passion for superheroes – were all parts of her that Mom had made clear she wanted to change. If it were up to Mom, we'd both stay at home, hidden in protective bubbles, and staying away from rock band t-shirts and comic books. And while I could recognize it for what it was – a weird and fierce way of protecting us – Dani saw it as a person rejection of who she was. It was the root of all their problems, and though I usually intervened before anyone's feelings could get hurt, I figured now would be as good a time as any to follow through with my plan. I cut a large piece of meat from my steak and placed it in my mouth, shoving it to the back of my mouth before beginning to make choking noises.

"Oliver?" Mom demanded as I began to 'choke'.

"Oh no!" I fake-gasped. "I forgot to cut my food into tiny bites like you told me to and now I'm choking!"

I continued making choking noises, briefly wondering how long I would have to do this until someone could 'save' me. "He's choking! Somebody do something!" Mom called, looking around the restaurant desperately. "There's $100 in it for you!"

"I'll do it for $200." Alan offered. I gave him a glare as I continued to 'choke'. Thankfully, a man from another table ran up and performed the Heimlich Maneuver on me. After a couple of tries, I spit out the piece of meat, making it look like I'd been saved.

"Oh, thank you." Mom smiled gratefully at the man, who waved away the $100 she offered him before going back to his own table. She turned to me. "Oh, thank goodness you're alright. What did I tell you about choking?"

"Not to do it." I mumbled.

"NOT to do it!" She agreed, upset. I nodded.

"Don't feel bad, Mom. It's not your fault." I assured her. She frowned.

"My fault?" She repeated. I nodded.

"I understand. You're spending a lot more time with Horace now, and you don't have time to watch over me and Dani." I told her, widening my eyes to make me look vulnerable in her eyes. "So if that means one of us choke on a dangerously large piece of food, hopefully, there'll be a stranger nearby who can save me."

"Don't worry, Mom. We'll be fine." Dani chimed in from her seat. While everyone else had jumped to her feet when I began 'choking', she'd stayed where she was, watching all of it with a careful eye. We all sat back down, and Mom turned to Horace, a regretful look on her face.

"Horace…" She said gently. "I didn't realize how much my children still need me. They're practically incapable of anything."

"That's not true!" Dani snapped defensively before smiling at Horace. "Horace, can I borrow your fork? My eye's itchy."

How she managed to keep a straight face on was beyond me, but Mom believed it completely. "See?" She sighed in exasperation before looking at Dani "What have I told you about forks?"

"Not to put them in your eye." Dani sighed, trying really hard not to smile.

"NOT to put them in your eye!" My mother agreed. She looked back at Horace, while Dani ducked her head, using her bangs to cover the smirk that had spread on her face. "Horace, I'm sorry, but between my children, my job, and the upkeep of my eyebrows, I clearly don't have time for a gentlemen friend right now."

"I understand." Horace nodded after a moment. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go comfort that person who's sobbing hysterically in the bathroom."

"I don't hear anyone sobbing." My mom commented, frowning.

"You will in about ten seconds!" Horace exclaimed, tearing off in the direction of the washrooms. Sure enough, ten seconds later, the sound of hysterical sobbing could be heard from the washrooms.

"Well, he took that well." Dani commented before looking at me. "Hey, you going to finish your potatoes?"

**Kaz's POV**

I almost made it out of the mall area when I heard large crashing sounds come from the direction I'd just come from. I skidded to a stop, confused. Was someone breaking into a store? Cool! He could be the first criminal I put away!

I raced back in the direction of the sounds, but stopped short when I realized that they were coming from the Domain. I slowly snuck up on the store to see Skylar and a very large, bald man in a black apron fighting each other. I recognized him instantly as Slaughter Master, a professional killer in the supervillain world. And by the looks of it, Skylar was getting her butt kicked.

I winced in sympathy as she hit the ground by the counter and crawled backwards, trying to get away. Unfortunately for her, her back hit the cashier's counter, preventing her from going any further.

"Say goodbye, Key Keeper!" He snarled. Wait, he was attacking her because he thought she was the Key Keeper? And if I had the key, that meant she couldn't defend herself.

"Did somebody say 'Key Keeper'?" I demanded, rushing into the room. Slaughter Master frowned at me.

"Who are you?" He asked dumbly. I looked at him, annoyed,

"I just said 'Did somebody say 'Key Keeper'?' in a way that made it pretty obvious that I'm the Key Keeper." I responded.

"I can't believe you stole the key from me!" Skylar exclaimed, getting back to her feet.

"Really? Because it seemed pretty obvious to me." I replied, baffled by her shock.

"Be quiet, both of you." Slaughter Master snarled, weilding a hammer in one hand and a mace in the other. "I don't care which of you is the real Key Keeper; I'll just slaughter you both."

Skylar sprung into action, quickly kicking the hammer out of his hand. Slaughter Master reacted in turn, using his strength to hit Skylar so hard that she went tumbling over the couch. He then charged at me, but I, confident in the power of the Key of Steel, merely crossed my arms, not affected whatsoever by the numerous times he hit me with his mace. Honestly, if all villains were this stupid, it was no wonder how superheroes did so well against them.

Bored of watching him hit me, I grabbed both of his wrists, stopping him. "Hey Slaughter Master, why are you hitting yourself?" I questioned before proceeding to punch Slaughter Master in the face with his own fist. Then, after doing that a few times, I let him go and elbowed him in the gut, sending him to the ground.

He got up quickly, grabbing the hammer as he did. And then, to my despair, I recognized the hammer. "Wait, is that the Hammer of Achelon?" I demanded. The Hammer of Achelon was the only object known in the history of superheroes that could defeat the Key of Steel.

"Finally, someone knows what it is." Slaughter Master exclaimed before swinging the hammer at my head. I raised my hands to protect myself, but the moment they made contact with the hammer, 1,000 volts of electricity flew through my body. I fell, back stiff with pain even as I hit the carpeted floor. I stumbled backwards as he advanced on me, wishing that Alivia had been here. For someone who was tasked with protecting us, she never seemed to be around when we really needed it.

Slaughter Master knocked a chair out of the way with his hammer, then closed in on me. I pushed myself to my feet, knowing I stood a better chance running than crawling. I ducked out of the way as he swung his hammer at me, briefly using a table for protection until he destroyed that too.

My back hit the cashier's counter and I knew I had to do something. I decided I might as well go down fighting and tried to punch Slaughter Master in the face, but he caught my hand with his fist and electrocuted me again using the hammer. "There's no escape!" He laughed. "This is the one weapon that can destroy the Key Keeper!"

That was it!

"What if I wasn't the Key Keeper?" I challenged. Using the hand he wasn't holding, I grabbed the Key of Steel out of my pocket and hooked it onto the front of his apron. The hammer backfired on him, suddenly electrocuting him instead of me. I took advantage of it, grabbing the hammer out of his hands and swinging it as hard as I could against his abdomen area. I landed more than a few good hits, each blow shocking him even worse than before. The last hit sent him into the air, then crashing to the ground, unconscious. I smirked to myself and swiped the Key of Steel off his apron and sliding it into my back pocket. "I'll take that, thank you."

"Wow." Skylar commented, walking up to me from behind the couch. "That was very clever, Kaz. I was wrong; you are worthy to be the Key Keeper."

"I have my moments." I commented modestly, leaning against a display. Unfortunately, it was one of those displays that could spin, so I ended up sliding off of it and onto the ground. "That was not one of them."

Skylar laughed lightly as I got back up. "Listen, I'm sorry I snaked the key from you. The idea of having powers again was just so tempting." She sighed. "But I don't want just anybody's powers to be a superhero. I want my own. I guess I just forgot that. Forgive me?"

I sighed. "Sure." I agreed, opening my arms to give her a hug. But after a moment, I felt her arm go from around my shoulder to down my back. "You're trying to take the key, aren't you?"

"…Maybe?" She admitted. I pushed her away and she gave me a sheepish smile.

**Oliver's POV**

"We should feel bad, shouldn't we?" I questioned, looking at Dani. She shrugged.

"Maybe. Probably." She corrected herself, leaning on the ER's main counter. "But I don't. You?"

"Nope. I mean, I feel bad about hurting the both of them, but it really is for the best." I replied, shaking my head. The doors behind my sister opened up and Skylar and Kaz walked in, the latter grinning proudly.

"Hey, guys!" He beamed at us. "Remember when you guys said I would never get superpowers?" Something silver flew from Kaz's pocket past me, but my best friend didn't seem to notice. "Watch this!"

He slammed his hand down on the counter, then cried out in pain, somehow surprised by the fact that it hurt. "I stand by my statement." I declared after a moment.

"Where's my key?" He demanded.

"Right here." We looked to see the Key Keeper holding up the silver Key of Steel. Oh, Kaz must have borrowed it or something. "I'm taking it back. I've clearly made a terrible mistake bestowing the key."

"I know." Skylar nodded seriously. "Kaz and I were being petty, and using the key for our own personal gains. Neither of us are worthy."

"Well, that was part of it, but it's mostly because Solar Flare told me she only goes out with superheroes." He smirked over at the blonde haired pyrokinetic. She waved back, flames flickering off her fingertips.

"Okay, I get it." Kaz agreed. "But be careful – everyone who goes out with her ends up getting burned."

"Right." The Key Keeper replied gratefully before heading out. He passed Horace on his way in. The man had a serious look on his face, and a large paper bag in his hands.

"Horace." Dani approached him first, an apologetic look on her face. "Listen, we're sorry for the way things went at the restaurant."

"It's alright. In fact, your mother and I talked and agreed that it's best if we don't date anymore." He told us.

"Thank goodness." I breathed a sigh of relief.

"And that what we should do is get engaged, so we did!" He continued. Dani and I stared at him.

"WHAT?!" On any other day, I think my sister would have joked about how I just did the perfect Alan impression, but she was too shocked to respond to my outburst.

"Your mother feels that because your father lives in England now, that you need a father figure around the house." He explained.

"Bu-but…" Dani tried to protest, but she was still speechless.

"Now, to start helping you, I took your leftover lunches from the fridges and made it safer and easier to swallow." He pulled two large milkshakes out of the paper bag. They were an odd brownish green color that looked to be the farthest thing from appetizing. "And, since I know you two share a lot, I mixed your meals, so it's half garden salad and half Philly cheesesteak."

Dani stared at the drinks, downright horrified. "Enjoy!" Horace encouraged us, oblivious to our feelings on the matter. "Oh, and more good news."

"Goodie." Dani commented sarcastically, eyes still on the drink.

"After the wedding, Alan and I are going to move in with you guys and your mom." Horace continued as Alan walked in.

"This is like falling down stairs that never stop." I muttered.

"It gets worse." Dani murmured. I looked at her. "There's only three bedrooms, including the master suite, so someone – you – is going to have to share with Alan."

"We'll be roomies!" Alan added as I processed that bit, a smile on his face. "Oh, but just to warn you, sometimes I snore like a hippo. Because when I have scary dreams, I turn into a hippo."

Dani and I exchanged horrified looks. How did we get ourselves into this one?


	9. The New Kids Are Docs

**Dani's POV**

"So let me get this straight." Alivia stared at me. "Kaz briefly had superpowers, Baby Tecton arrived, and now Horace is marrying your mother?"

"Yeah, that pretty much sums up our week." I agreed, sighing.

"What the hell?" She demanded. "I was only gone for three days!"

"I know." Ollie nodded, walking up to us, his hands in his pockets. He glanced at me. "Oh, did you add the part where Skylar and Kaz were nearly killed by Slaughter Master?"

"No!" The Irish girl retorted.

"Yeah, Liv, you missed all the fun." Kaz agreed, leaning on the counter. "And isn't it your job to protect us from stuff like this?"

"A, I can't protect you from your parents' love lives, and B, it isn't my fault that you guys get into all this stuff when I'm not around!" She protested. We all laughed at that, much to her annoyance. "Jerks."

"Oh, by the way, Liv, this jerk need a favor." I looked at my best friend. "Can I borrow 15$? I'll pay you back."

"What for?" She questioned, even as she pulled out her wallet.

"My roots are showing – I need some more dye. And I'm kinda broke." I explained. She handed me some cash, then smirked at me.

"You know, I've always wondered what you'd look like if you stopped dyeing your hair." She commented.

"Blonde and like my mother." I grimaced at the very idea. "And, with my grades, I'd be subject to more than enough dumb blonde jokes, so I'm not gonna ever stop dyeing it."

"Fair enough." She agreed.

"You know, we should ask Horace for a raise." Kaz commented. He looked at us. "I feel like I spend half of my paycheck on tipping alone."

"That's because you try to be a big shot all the time." Alivia told him sternly. "When you go to the bank, you don't have to tip the teller. Or the ATM machine."

"That's your opinion." Kaz responded. He pulled a dollar bill out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Oh, and by the way, thanks for your opinion."

Alivia looked at him, then shrugged and pocketed the dollar bill. "Kaz, we can't ask Horace for a raise." I told my boyfriend.

"Dee's right." Ollie agreed. "The last time we did, Horace said the hospital was going broke and then sobbed uncontrollably for 10 minutes. It was super creepy."

"But isn't he going to be your step-dad soon? This is, like, the perfect time to ask for something like that. He's not going to risk upsetting your Mom by saying no." Kaz pointed out.

"A, Mom doesn't know we work for him." Ollie pointed out. "And B, asking for favors like that would be a sign that we're okay with this, and since I'm going to have to room with Alan, I'm very much not okay with this!"

"Also, can we avoid the word step-dad or any variation of that?" I piped up. "It's just weird to think of him like that."

"Fine, how about this?" Kaz was really adamant about this raise. "We ask him for a raise, and if he says no, we threaten to quit."

"And if he calls our bluff and tells us to quit?" Ollie questioned.

"He won't do that; we're irreplaceable. There's no one else here like us." Kaz assured him. Suddenly, the doors behind him opened up and three people walked in. The first was a tall guy with short black hair pointed upwards, the second was a tall girl with short, dark-colored hair cut in a bob-cut, and the third was a scrawny guy with short, light brown hair. For some odd reason that I couldn't explain, they looked a bit like us, actually. A lot like us, with a few exceptions: the guy with the black hair looked older, in the face at least, than Kaz was, and the other two had much rounder faces than either Ollie or I, making them both look a little younger.

"Okay, I thought I was the only one who could duplicate themselves." Alivia commented suspiciously, glancing between us and the three people who'd just randomly walked in.

"Whoa, look at this place!" The black-haired guy exclaimed. He pointed past us. "There's Blue Tornado!"

"And Solar Flare!" The girl exclaimed. The brown haired boy looked at his friends.

"This must be some kind of secret superhero hospital!" He decided. I looked at Kaz.

"You were saying?" I commented before sliding out of my seat. I walked up to the strangers. "Who are you?"

"Oh, I'm Gulliver Shore. This is my sister, Rani, and my best friend Chaz Codman." The brown haired boy introduced himself, shaking my hand eagerly.

"Gulliver, Rani, and Chaz?" Kaz chuckled behind me. "What dorky names."

"How did you find this place?" Ollie questioned, coming up behind me.

"Well, we were hanging out at our favorite comic book shop, and Gully bet Chaz that he couldn't bust down a door with his head, like Gray Granite." Rani explained, a sweet smile on her face.

"I lost." Chaz added. "The bet and my peripheral vision."

"See?" Rani waved her hand near Chaz's head. The black-haired boy didn't react. "Nothing."

"Anyway, at the hospital, Chaz and Rani followed this guy who looked exactly like Blue Tornado into a janitor's closet." Gulliver continued. "We then solved the Caduceo puzzle and here we are." He paused. "Where are we, by the way?"

"You're at Mighty Med, a secret superhero hospital." Alivia walked up to us, looking over the strangers. She was clearly suspicious of them.

"You're Geminus." Chaz grinned. "The Irish superhero sidekick."

"Yes." She nodded slowly. "And these are Doctor Short, Doctor Broadman, and…the other Doctor Short." She glanced at Ollie and I. "I see why you guys prefer first names with your patients. That must get so confusing."

"So you guys are superheroes?" Gulliver looked at us, impressed. Rani's eyes, an indigo blue color, widened.

"Great alter-egos!" She exclaimed, grinning. "How do you hide your muscles like that?"

Kaz, of course, flexed at the mention of muscles. "We're not superheroes. We work here, helping superheroes." Ollie explained.

"But for the record, I have a serious six-pack under this shirt." Kaz interrupted him. I raised an eyebrow. "Okay, a one-pack, but my arms are huge under these sleeves!"

Deciding not to laugh at him in front of Chaz, Gulliver, and Rani, I turned back to them. Gulliver looked at us hopefully. "Hey, do you think you could get us jobs here too?"

"I'm sorry, but you guys can't work here." Ollie replied. "You're just three comic book geeks who stumbled in here off the street; you're completely unqualified."

"So we were." I whispered to him. He raised a hand over his mouth.

"We know that, but they don't." He whispered back.

"We do now." Chaz commented. "You guys are really bad at whispering."

Ollie and I exchanged glances. "Sorry."

"See, this is why you guys should have twin telepathy." Alivia commented. I chuckled, thinking that it would definitely be cool, and save us a lot of trouble.

"Dani, boys!" Horace shouted, rushing into the ER. He pushed Spotlight along in a gurney, the light-powered hero unconscious.

"What happened?" Alivia demanded, shocked to see how low her friend's vitals were.

"We're not sure. He's going to crash soon, though." Horace explained as he tried to stabilize him. We all looked at each other, thinking. Spotlight wasn't the most popular hero, so we weren't as familiar with his history as we were others, but we had all made it our job to do a fair bit of research on all the heroes in this world.

"He's turning red and barely breathing." I listed the symptoms. "And his heartrate is off the charts."

"Just like in issue 351, when he was exposed to the Aldebaran Crystal, his mortal weakness." Kaz continued, remembering the reference.

"Which can only be cured by a massive negative electrical charge!" Ollie finished. We spun around to inform Horace. "Horace, we figured-"

To our surprise, Gulliver, Rani, and Chaz had come to that conclusion a lot faster than us and had already shocked Spotlight with the negative electrical charge. He coughed weakly, his head rolling on the pillow.

"Hey," Alivia leaned, looking at him with concern on her face. "You okay?"

"Yeah I-" he winced, "I think so." He looked up and smirked charmingly when he saw Rani's face. "Thanks to you, beautiful."

"You're welcome." She told him, rolling her eyes. Horace turned to her, Gulliver, and Chaz.

"Well done, Normos I've never seen before!" He exclaimed cheerfully. He smiled. "You know, every couple of years, I like to impulsively hire someone with no experience and grossly underpay them, so welcome aboard!"

"Seriously?" I demanded.

"You've got to be kidding me." Kaz agreed.

"Horace, you can't hire them!" Ollie protested. "The hospital doesn't have the money!"

"Right, I forgot." Horace nodded. "Oliver, Dani, Kaz, you three are going to have to take a pay cut."

"C'mon…" I muttered. So much for that raise.

"Good thing you're not hurting for money." Horace chuckled as he walked away. "Yesterday, Kaz tipped me 20$ just for giving him his paycheck."

**Xxx**

"I'm just saying, I don't like these new guys showing us up." Kaz commented, holding open the door to the Domain for me and Ollie.

"They're not showing us up." Ollie insisted, rolling his eyes.

"Uh, yeah, they are." I agreed with Kaz. "In an hour, they saved Spotlight, did all of our busy-work for us, discovered a cure for Advartian Worm Toe, and Rani got Spotlight's number."

"I can't name a girl that he hasn't given his number to, Dee." Ollie pointed. "And what, are you jealous?"

"Please." I rolled my eyes. "Just, how do you get all that done in an hour?"

"She's right, man." Kaz nodded. "And plus, being the only Normos at Mighty Med is our thing. It's bad enough that I have to share it with you two."

"Hey." Dani tried to punch him in the arm. He chuckled, grabbing her hand before she could and not letting go of it.

"Guys, let it go." Ollie told us. "Horace will probably put them on opposite shifts from us, so you'll never even have to see them."

"You sure?" I raised an eyebrow, because Gulliver, Chaz, and Rani were on our favorite couch, playing video games with Barry.

"Guys, meet my friends, Chaz, Gulliver, and Rani!" My ex-boyfriend called us over. "They're just like you, but so much better!"

"Thanks Bear." I commented.

"You are welcome, Dani." He smirked at me.

"Yes! High score!" Chaz exclaimed, leaping to his feet. "Oh yeah!"

"They even 'oh yeah!' better than you." Barry added.

"Thank you, Barry." Kaz had never liked Barry – I now realize it was because of me – so this probably wasn't helping.

"Oliver, these guys are stealing our lives!" Kaz exclaimed, turning to my brother.

"We have to take them out." I decided. Kaz looked at me.

"I was going to say 'take them down'." He commented. I shrugged.

"Either one works." I replied.

"You know, maybe instead of feeling threatened, you should view them as friendly competition." Ollie suggested. Then, Skylar walked through the door.

"There's my cute, little buddy." She smiled. Ollie beamed at her, but she just walked past him as if he were invisible, and hugged Gulliver tightly. "Thank you so much for helping me with Horace!"

"What did he help you with?" Ollie asked, trying to remind her that he was here.

"He helped me convince Horace to put a suggestion box in the hospital to boost morale." Skylar beamed at him. She looked back at Gulliver. "Thank you so much."

"Anytime." Gulliver assured her. He smiled. "Hey, do you want to go on a date with me on Friday?"

Ollie's eyes grew wide. "Hmm…dating someone I work with and see every day?" Skylar thought about it. "That would be so convenient!"

"Okay, I'm in." Ollie turned to us. "Those guys are going down."

**Xxx**

"Man, I can't believe Horace is letting Chaz, Gulliver, and Rani assist in surgery, and we have to eat all the expired DNA samples." Kaz grumbled. Ollie and I looked at him, thinking we must have misheard him, but then he grabbed a DNA sample test tube and brought it up to his lips.

"Kaz!" Ollie scolded, slapping the tube out of his hands. "Horace didn't say we have to eat them, he just said get rid of them!"

"Yeah, but the garbage can is all the way over there." Kaz complained. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, but we can play basketball, see?" I tossed the test tube into the garbage can.

"Don't do that." Ollie chided. "You'll miss and then there will be broken glass all over the dirty floor…dirt."

"Yes, Ollie. There is dirt on the floor. You might want to bring that up with the janitors." I commented sarcastically. He shook his head.

"No, dirt. We should go through Chaz, Gulliver, and Rani's employee records to find some dirt on them." My brother insisted. Kaz and I grinned.

"That's an awesome idea." I slid out of my seat and headed down the hall, not looking back to see if the boys were following. But to our surprise, when we walked into the filing room, Chaz, Gulliver, and Rani were already inside, bent over a filing cabinet.

"Don't worry, Dr. Wrath, soon you will be resurrected." Gulliver announced, smug.

"And then we will exact our revenge on Kaz, Oliver, and Dani for what they did to you." Rani added. Kaz, Ollie, and I exchanged glances, and slowly began to back up, hoping we could sneak out before they realized we were there. But one of our shoes squeaked against the floor, alerting them to our presence.

"Hey!" All three of them spun around, Chaz pulling a high-tech blaster out from his pocket.

"Don't worry, I got this." Kaz assured us, reaching into his wallet and pulling out a 20$ bill. He offered it to them. "Why don't you just forget we were ever here?"

Unsurprisingly, Chaz bought it, reaching for the money, but Rani slapped his hand away before he could. "I can't believe you guys are evil." Ollie commented, looking at them.

"Though, it does justify us hating them for no reason." I commented, glancing sideways at him.

"You think we're evil now?" Gulliver challenged. "Wait until we bring our favorite professor back to life."

"Professor?" Ollie repeated. Chaz grinned.

"We go to Villain University, the world's best college for super criminals." He explained. "We destroyed Villain State this year. Literally: we blew it up with a bunch of missiles."

"Villain University? Do you guys learn powers there?" Kaz inquired. "And if so, do they offer an online course?"

"Kaz…" I gave him a look.

"Dr. Wrath taught us everything we know." Chaz bragged. "I learned to take any hero's power and reflect it back at them."

"And I learned to create mirages, like this." Gulliver turned his head to the left, and an image of Skylar appeared, wearing a Skylar-And-Gulliver-Forever t-shirt. She blew him a kiss before he made the image disappear.

"That was just really mean." Ollie commented, hurt. Rani chuckled.

"And I learned to manipulate the darkness." She commented. Before any of us could question what she meant, three shadows burst from the dark corner and wrapped themselves around our hands, a solid barrier acting like handcuffs.

"You're wasting your time." Kaz commented, pulling at the shadow-cuffs to no avail. "Dr. Wrath is ashes. He's gone."

"We just need to trick Caduceo into bringing him back." Gulliver assured us.

"But nobody knows who, or where, Caduceo is, so I think you might need a plan B." I commented.

"It's Horace Diaz and he's in the ER." Chaz commented. We all stared at them.

"What? How did you know that?" Ollie demanded, before realizing his mistake. "I mean? Horace Diaz? That's the craziest thing I've ever heard!"

Even he winced, however, when his voice broke, giving himself away. "Wow, you're as bad at lying as you are at whispering." Rani smirked.

"You need to take Intro to Lying and Whispering at V.U." Gulliver suggested before whispering something so softly that none of us could make out what he was trying to say.

"We can't hear you." I told him. He smirked.

"Anyway, before Dr. Wrath died, he discovered that Horace Diaz was Caduceo and told the entire super villain world." Rani continued, leaning on the filing cabinet. "All we have to do is trick him into using his powers on those ashes."

"Apparently, Dr. Wrath neglected to teach you that in comic books, explaining your who plan always ends badly." Kaz told them.

"Oh, it'll end badly for you." Gulliver assured us, smirking.

**Xxx**

"You're not going to get away with this." I glared at Chaz, Gulliver, and Rani as they pushed us into the Domain.

"Could you say anything more cliché?" Rani rolled her eyes.

"If you give me a minute to think about it, probably." I retorted grouchily.

They pushed us to the far end of the room, Chaz still aiming his weapon at us. "What are you going to do to us?" Ollie questioned. Rani opened her mouth to reply, but Gulliver cut her off.

"In 10 minutes, you'll be a couple of cardboard standees." He told us. "I thought it would be ironic."

Before any of us could protest, Chaz shot us each with his blaster. It didn't hurt, really, but all my muscles froze at the same time, leaning me unable to move.

"I can't move." Kaz complained.

"We're turning two-dimensional." Ollie realized.

Gulliver and Chaz turned to walk away, but Rani grabbed her brother's shoulder before they could.

"Hey, you said I could destroy them." She looked at him, clearly annoyed. "We both know the 2-D Ray only works for 48 hours before the effects are reversed."

"Dr. Wrath's going to want to deal with them personally, don't you think?" Gulliver reminded her. She crossed her arms.

"You know, I don't even get why we're doing this." She muttered. She looked at him and Chaz. "We're powerful enough to take over the supervillain world on our own – we don't need Dr. Wrath."

"Oh, someone gets an offensive power, and she thinks she's queen of the world." Chaz mocked her. She rolled her eyes.

"Fine, we'll do it your way. But we better be rewarded for this." She declared, storming out ahead of them.

I don't know how long we stood there, frozen, until finally, someone came to our rescue. And by someone, I mean Gus. The younger boy walked out from the room in the back of the store, stretching and yawning as if he'd just woken up.

"Wow, that nap really got away from me." He commented.

"Gus!" I hissed. "Help!"

"Dani?" Gus walked around us to get a better look at our fronts. By this point, our bodies were completely flat and made of cardboard, the only part of us still able to move being our eyes and mouths. "Oliver? Kaz? What's going on? Am I still dreaming?"

Well, whatever works. "Yes. Yes, you're having a lucid dream. And you can do anything you want." Ollie agreed.

"And you know what would make this dream cooler?" Kaz added. "If you rescued us."

"That would be cool!" Gus agreed. "But first, I've always wanted to make one of you talk like a robot, one of you talk like my Uncle Steve."

"Hello, Gus." Kaz spoke slowly and without emotion in his voice, trying to sound mechanical. "How are you today?"

"That's amazing!" Gus exclaimed. "You sound just like my Uncle Steve! Oliver, you do a robot!"

"Gus, now pick us up and take us exactly where we tell you to go." My brother instructed, copying Kaz's impression. Gus frowned.

"That's a terrible robot impression. But you do sound just like my aunt Megan!" He told Ollie.

Thankfully, though, it was enough to get Gus to grab out cardboard cutouts, and leave the store with us. Though it was getting harder to speak as time went by, we managed to talk Gus through sneaking into Mighty Med and into the ER. He placed us down near the door, looking around in wonder.

"Whoa. My dream has gotten even cooler!" Gus exclaimed. He ran past Spotlight and Alivia towards the Mighty Med symbol on the wall. "This is the biggest M I've ever seen!"

"Guys?" Alivia walked over to us, staring. "What is he doing here?"

"And why are you cardboard cutouts?" Spotlight added, confused.

"Silver device, on the cart." I managed to get out through a mostly frozen mouth, my eyes darting towards it. Alivia frowned, then grabbed the device and pointed it at us. One by one, she unfroze us. "Oh, thank god. Gus, you're amazing."

"Uncle Steve voice!" The younger boy exclaimed.

"Gus, you are amazing." I did in my best robot voice. Kaz and Ollie began to push him towards the door. "Now go back to the Domain and wake up from this dream."

The second he was out the door, we turned back to Spotlight and Alivia. "Rani, Gulliver, and Chaz are evil. They're trying to bring Dr. Wrath back from the dead." Kaz explained quickly.

"What?" They both demanded, but we didn't have time to explain.

"We have to find them. They're after Horace!" Ollie told them.

"Filing room. Rani paged him, said there was an emergency." Alivia informed us, already turning to head for the hall. We ran down the hall, and pushed open the doors.

Horace was inside, standing over Alan's dead body, an axe lodged in the boy's back. Rani, Gulliver, and Chaz watched him as he began to chant his Caduceo chant.

"Horace, wait!" Ollie shouted.

"That's not really Alan!" I added. Alivia looked at me.

"You sure?" She questioned. I nodded, confident. If they were going to kill Alan, I figured that Rani would use her own powers, and they did say they were going to trick Horace…

"What are you talking about?" Horace demanded, staring.

"Those are Dr. Wrath's ashes." Kaz explained. "Look!"

He kicked his leg through Alan's body, and the mirage disappeared, revealing a pile of ashes beneath. Horace turned on Rani, Gulliver, and Chaz. "Freeze!" He ordered, trying to use his powers to freeze them. But Chaz raised his hand and deflected the power back at Horace, freezing him. "My freezing hand is frozen!"

"See, irony." Gulliver smirked.

"And now-" Chaz raised his 2-D Ray to shoot at us, but Alivia and Spotlight leapt into action, charging at them. Alivia split herself into two, both of them taking on Chaz. They knocked him over, making his aim go wild, and he shot Gulliver with his weapon, freezing the brown haired boy. Rani, meanwhile, had her hands full with Spotlight, who was using all his power to keep her from attacking us. It was cool, actually, watching her shadow energy push against his light energy, but in the end, he won, knocking her off her balance and onto the ground.

"Ha!" Alivia had fished a magnetic glove out of a filing cabinet. She raised it at Chaz and used it to retrieve the 2-D Ray from his grip. She aimed it at Chaz and froze him. "Spotlight!" She called. The older boy moved out of the way just in time for her to shoot Rani in the chest. All three of the villainous students were stuck, beginning to turn into cardboard cutouts.

"And to think, I was going to ask you out on a date." Spotlight commented, looking at Rani. She rolled her eyes.

"I would never have said yes." She retorted. Ollie, Kaz, and I stood up, confident that the danger had passed.

"The 2-D Ray's effects only last 48 hours." I warned the two heroes. Alivia nodded.

"That is more than enough time for us to get them into cells at Mighty Max." She assured us.

"As soon as they freeze." Spotlight added. "Man, this thing takes forever."

"We know." Kaz agreed, nodding.

"Thank you." Horace nodded appreciatively at us. "I almost wasted my last Caduceo power on Dr. Wrath. Even using it on Alan, I was kind of like, 'eh, should I?'"

"He's your nephew!" Alivia scolded, shocked.

"Geminus, I'm pretty sure you're the only one in the hospital who actually likes the kid, so this really shouldn't be surprising." Spotlight commented. She glared at him.

"Well, if you really want to thank us, I think I know how you can." Kaz offered as I bent down to sweep Dr. Wrath's ashes into an empty container. "By giving us a raise."

Almost immediately, Horace's expression turned sorrowful, and tears sprung to his eyes. "Oh, Kaz. I wish I could. I really do, but with the hospital facing such financial hardship, I just can't pay you what you rightfully deserve." He began to cry, dropping his face onto my boyfriend's shoulder. "It's so unfair!"

Kaz looked particularly uncomfortable, while we all stared. "Told you it would get creepy." Ollie muttered to Alivia as Horace continued to cry loudly.


	10. It's a Matter of Principal

**Oliver's POV**

"I mean, seriously? When's the barbershop quartet practice today?" Kaz teased me as we walked to school. I glanced down at my red and white striped shirt, wishing it hadn't been laundry day today. Even Dani had made a couple of jokes about my shirt before leaving for soccer practice.

"My shirt is stupid, I get it!" I retorted. "And practice is at 6 o'clock, just like always."

"Good to know." My best friend chuckled as we walked onto school grounds. We quickly spotted Dani, who was speaking with Jordan and Barry. "Hey Dee."

My sister glanced back at us, and I could tell something was up. Her eyes were large and pleading, begging us to come over. "What are you guys talking about?" I asked, walking over.

"Barry and Jordan have made a shocking discovery." My sister told us, her tone serious.

"Superheroes are real." Jordan declared. Kaz and I stared at them. No wonder Dani looked freaked.

"Excuse me?" I questioned.

"I know it sounds crazy – it did to me at first too – but Jordan's right." Barry insisted. "Weird stuff have been happening all over town for years. And then, I saw a guy get stabbed in the leg by a spear-"

"Which I had nothing to do with." Jordan added.

"And when he took it out, he didn't bleed. At all." Barry continued.

"Dude, my older sister cut her leg open with some work-out stuff when she was six and there was hardly any blood." Kaz pointed out. "Sometimes, people just aren't bleeders."

"And what about Alivia?" He challenged. We exchanged looks. "A couple of weeks ago, I saw her having lunch with you, Dani, right before I caught her in the gym, talking to some blonde girl. How could she be in two places at once?"

"I think you're imagining things." Dani said quickly.

"Then what about this?" Jordan questioned, pulling out her phone. On it, she had a picture of Captain Atomic, dressed as a Normo. "It's Captain Atomic! It looks exactly like him."

"Captain Atomic isn't real, Jordan." Kaz lied. Barry frowned.

"I figured you guys would be more excited about this, seeing as you're the comic book geeks." Barry frowned.

"Well, you see, Barry, we understand what fiction is." Dani teased him, trying to play this off like a joke.

"I'm telling you. this guy is Captain Atomic and I'm going to find him and prove it." Jordan declared.

"And I'm going to help her. Mostly because I don't want anyone else to get stabbed with a spear." Barry announced.

"Guys, please. This is a huge city. You'll probably never see him again." Kaz reasoned.

"He's right there." Dani corrected him as Captain Atomic, wearing a dress jacket and tie, walked up to us.

"What's buzzin', cousin?" He greeted us. "I'm your new history teacher, Mr. Camido."

Jordan and Barry smirked, feeling as if they just lucked out. Meanwhile, our luck was running out, because if they discovered superheroes, there's no way they'd keep that to themselves.

**Xxx**

Deciding that dealing with 'Mr. Camido' was more important than going to science class, we headed straight to the history classroom and pulled Captain Atomic out before he could begin class.

"Captain Atomic, what are you doing here?" Dani demanded, being careful to keep her voice low enough that no one passing by would hear her. Captain Atomic carefully placed his brief case on the ground before responding.

"There's been a lot of chatter about supervillain activity in this area." He proclaimed. "I'm here, undercover, to make sure the school is safe from no-good-nicks and ne'er-do-wells."

"Okay, if you're going to stick around, you're going to need to keep a low profile." Kaz decided, looking around to make sure that no one was eavesdropping.

"Our friends, Jordan and Barry, are convinced that you're Captain Atomic." I let him know.

"I read you three loud and clear." He assured us. He pointed at me. "Except you. You kinda mumble a bit."

Kaz and Dani both nodded in agreement as Alivia walked over to us. She looked over her shoulder, frowning. "Hey, guys?" She looked concerned. "Anyone want to tell me why Barry just tried to take a sample of my blood?"

"This is ridiculous." Dani muttered. She looked at us. "I'm going to go find Skylar, let her know what's going on in case either of Jordan or Barry recognize her from the comics."

"Jordan and Barry suspect that superheroes exist, and they're convinced that you and Captain Atomic here are part of the superhero world." I explained to the Irish girl as my sister walked away, shaking her head.

"Crap." The red head muttered. Kaz nodded.

"Yeah." He agreed. "But if you keep a low profile, you both should be fine. Just act normal…what is Jordan doing?"

I looked to see Jordan approaching us with a large, yellow box and a sensor attached to it, Barry standing a few feet behind her. She swiped the sensor slowly through the air, along Captain Atomic's back. "Ha! I knew it!" She exclaimed. "I'm detecting high levels of radiation! You are Captain Atomic."

"That doesn't prove anything! This whole city is filled with radiation." Kaz lied before holding the sensor close to me. "Beep, beep, beep, beep." He mimicked the radiation detector.

"You're just making beeping noises with your mouth." Jordan accused.

"That's the first symptom on radiation poisoning: involuntary mouth beeping." He replied. Alivia and I exchanged looks before beginning to make beeping noises ourselves. Even Captain Atomic got in on it, trying to prove Jordan right.

"Fine." Barry shrugged and took the detector and sensor from Kaz. He looked around and spotted Principal Howard walking in. "Let's see how well it works on somebody else."

He held the sensor close to Principal Howard and began to swipe it up his body. To everyone's surprise, it began to beep when Barry reached his upper chest. "Why are you beeping?" Barry questioned, frowning at the detector. Principal Howard gasped and clutched his chest.

"My experimental plutonium heart!" He gasped, doubling over. "You made it malfunction. Why would you do this?"

Jordan and Barry both looked on in horror as he collapsed. "Jordan!" Barry, thinking quickly, shoved the detector into the blonde girl's hands. "Why would you do this?"

"Barry!" Jordan snapped, annoyed. Alivia frowned.

"Should we, uh, call and ambulance?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Probably." Kaz agreed.

**Skylar's POV**

"So they're seriously convinced that superheroes exist and that we're heroes?" I questioned. Dani had caught up with me on my way out for spare and had quickly explained to me what was going on with Barry and Jordan.

"Well, almost. They suspect Liv and 'Mr. Camido', but right now you're still in the clear." Dani assured me. "And they think that Kaz, Ollie, and I are clueless, so the four of us are fine, so long as no one realizes your secret."

"I know your secret." Dani and I both jumped at the sound of Stephanie's voice, and spun around to see the blonde mean girl standing directly behind us. We exchanged glances, wondering how much she overheard.

"What secret?" I said slowly when Stephanie didn't elaborate.

"Well, you know how I do extensive background searches on everyone in the school so I can find their embarrassing secrets and bend them to my will?" She questioned. Just then, Gus ran in, carrying a large dry cleaning bag.

"Here's your dry cleaning, Stephanie." He told her, holding it up for her to see.

"Good." She smirked. "Your secret's safe with me, Mr. Still-Bites-His-Nails…On his feet."

"Can I help it if I'm limber and have delicious toenails?" Gus demanded. Stephanie rolled her eyes and turned back to me.

"Anyway, when I did my search on you, I discovered that there's no Connie Valentine. It's a fake identity."

Crap, crap, crap. My cover was blown. "Stephanie, it's not what you think." I told her.

"You have no idea what you're talking about, Stephanie." Dani added, looking at the girl carefully.

"Oh, I know what I'm talking about." She assured us. "You're not who you say you are. You're…" I held my breath, expecting to hear the words 'Skylar Storm' come out of her mouth. "…a princess from another country living here in hiding!"

Dani and I glanced at each other, then the short haired girl shrugged. "Dang it!" I sighed dramatically. I would let Stephanie think whatever she wanted, so long as it wasn't the truth. "My secret is out; I am a princess in hiding."

"Huh. If any one here was a princess in hiding, I would have guessed it was Genevieve." Gus commented, frowning. I shrugged, still not sure why the fairly timid girl insisted on wearing a ball gown to school everyday, along with a tiara.

"Why are you in hiding?" Gus questioned, curious. I froze, not sure what to say. Thankfully, Dani, always the best liar out of all of us, was quick on her feet.

"Her father, the king of…Calderiania, was overthrown by rebels." She explained. I nodded, going along with her story.

"And he sent me here for safety while he fights to regain his crown." I added. Stephanie beamed.

"It all makes perfect sense now!" She exclaimed. Dani and I both stared at her.

"It does?" I questioned. Whose Kool-Aid was this girl drinking?

"Yes! It explains why you dress and act like such a dork! To not seem like royalty!" Stephanie exclaimed. She frowned. "Though that doesn't really explain why you do, Dani."

Dani frowned and looked at her clothing before pulling her jacket closed. "Look, you guys have to keep my secret, or I could be in real danger." I told them seriously. If they went around blabbing about a princess in their school, it wouldn't take long for someone to discover my real secret.

"Of course!" Stephanie agreed before smirking. "But only if you make me a duchess. I want people to bow down before me like royalty."

"People already bow down before you." Dani pointed out.

"Yes, but I want them to be, like, royally forced to." The blonde haired girl insisted.

"I, uh…" Well, I wasn't actually royalty, so I couldn't make her a duchess. "I would love to make you a duchess, but…"

"It's an honor only bestowed on the most worthy individuals." Dani intervened. I sent her a grateful smile.

"Then I'll prove how worthy I am. I'll start by showering you with gifts. " Stephanie insisted. She turned to Gus. "Give her royal highness your lunch! Now!"

"Fine." Gus sighed. I started to object.

"Gus, you don't need-" Dani cut me off.

"Your highness," She smirked a little. "When someone offers to show how worthy they are, it is rude to deny them the opportunity."

In other words, she wanted to see what she could get out of this.

"It's a BLT." Gus handed me a sandwich. "Bacon, lettuce, and toenails."

"Ew." I dropped the food, disgusted. I certainly wasn't going to eat that.

"I thought Dani was the one who hated bacon." Gus frowned, confused.

**Oliver's POV**

"We dodged a bullet there." Kaz muttered as he, Alivia, and I walked into the school lobby. "It's only a matter of time before Jordan and Barry figure out that Mr. Camido is a superhero from the 1950s. I mean, he keeps referring to computers as 'those fancy radios'." He did his Captain Atomic impression, then sighed. "Where is Dee? She loves that impression."

"No idea." I hadn't seen her or Skylar all day.

"Wait, what if we try to get him fired?" Alivia suggested, surprising us. Usually, Liv was trying to keep us out of trouble, not risk getting us into some.

"Alivia McLean, are you suggesting that we screw with a teacher?" Kaz questioned, impressed.

"Only because if he gets caught as a hero, my Dad will probably pull me off this assignment." She reminded us. Right, if her Dad pulled her off the bodyguard assignment, we'd barely get to see her.

"Good idea, Liv, but the only person who can fire teachers is Principal Howard." I reminded her.

"I have an idea!" Kaz hissed suddenly, dropping his voice to a whisper.

"Nice secretive whisper!" I whispered back. Ever since Chaz, Rani, and Gulliver had insulted our ability to whisper, Kaz, Dani, and I had been working on improving that skill.

"You too!" Kaz whispered back.

"What's the idea?" Alivia questioned, also whispering. Kaz smirked, and quickly laid out the plan for us.

**Xxx**

"Principal Howard!" I watched as Kaz approached our principal. "Can I talk to you? I'm kinda having a personal problem."

"Kaz, you can always talk to me!" Principal Howard assured him. "During my office hours, which are between 11:30 to 11:45, every other Thursday…in May."

"It'll only take a minute." Kaz promised him. Principal Howard stopped. "So, I'm trying to impress this girl I like, and she really likes robot impressions…"

"Go on." Principal Howard encouraged him.

"Unfortunately, I'm terrible at robot impressions, and I just remembered that you did such an amazing impression at last year's staff talent show. So…will you help me, Principal Howard?"

"I think you mean, Principal Boogie-Bot 3000." Our principal replied before beginning to show Kaz how to do a robot impression. Kaz copied him, purposefully screwing up at times to make sure the lesson took longer. I whistled lightly, knowing that Alivia would be waiting for my signal. She nodded and moved from her spot on the stairs to walk into the history classroom.

"Since when are there fifty stars on the American flag?" Captain Atomic questioned her as she walked into the history classroom.

"Never mind that!" The fiery haired hero insisted. "You were right! There is a villain at this school, and he's too powerful for me to take care on. I need your help!"

"Who is it?" Captain Atomic demanded.

"Principal Howard!" Alivia exclaimed, eyes wide to make her look scared.

"Yeah!" I ran up to him to give my friend some back up. "He's a robot villain and he shut down all telecommunications world wide. And we can't call the League of Heroes because of it!"

Outside the classroom, I could hear Kaz telling Principal Howard about how robots try to rip the arms off of human beings, and how my sister would love to see him try something like that. Captain Atomic started out of the classroom at the perfect moment, in time to see Principal Howard 'attempt' to rip Kaz's arms off.

"Leave him be!" Captain Atomic shouted, pushing Kaz away from Principal Howard and attempting to remove the educator's head.

"Get off of me!" Principal Howard protested, trying to push Captain Atomic away.

"Not until I unhinge your robot head!" Captain Atomic argued. Principal Howard pushed him away, and glared at him angrily.

"I'm not an actual robot! I was just doing a masterful impression of one." He snapped.

"Lies!" Captain Atomic retorted. "I have proof that you've shut down all telephone devices in the world."

Seconds later, Principal Howard's phone rang. I had to stifle my laugh as our principal answered it. "I'm sorry, but I can't right now." He told the caller. "I'm talking to a crazy person."

"Uh…" Captain Atomic clearly realized he'd been played. "In my defense, that was a pretty masterful robot impression."

"Listen, we all make mistakes." Principal Howard put his hand on the hero's shoulder. "Just not all as stupid as this one, so you're fired. So get out."

Captain Atomic looked crushed as he walked back to his classroom, so crushed that for a moment I felt bad. But I knew that it was the right decision to make.

"I guess he's history." I joked. Alivia, Kaz, and Principal Howard just stared at me. "Because he taught history and now he's gone?" I explained.

"Oh, we understood it. It just wasn't that funny." Alivia told me.

**Skylar's POV**

"So, you excited for your soccer tournament?" I questioned, sitting down next to Dani on one of the benches outside. She grinned at me.

"Regionals, all the way across the state? I'm thrilled." She replied, taking a bite of her salad. "Not only do I get to play the game I love, but I also get to get out of town for a while."

"What is with you and trying to leave Philadelphia?" Dani was always mentioning about how she was planning on leaving right after graduation. She shrugged.

"It's just, aside from Caldera, I've never left home. And honestly, things with my mom kinda suck, and the only reasons I'd have to stay would be you, Liv, Ollie, and Kaz."

"So you just want to leave?" I was surprised. I would do anything to be able to go home, and all she wanted to do was abandon hers.

"Not for forever, but for a while, yeah." She glanced around. "Liv and I were talking. We're thinking of going backpacking across Europe after graduation."

"Cool?" Was that something Earth girls usually did?

"It is cool." Dani confirmed. "Not sure if we're going to invite the boys though. Ollie hates travelling, and-"

"Connie!" She was interrupted mid-sentence by Stephanie as she walked over to us. She looked at us. "Ew, gross."

I glanced down at my lunch – a plate of sushi I'd gotten from the school cafeteria. "You don't like sushi?"

"No, I love sushi. I hate your shoes." She told me. Dani frowned, looking at the shoes, then shrugged, not disagreeing with the blonde. "Very clever. No one would expect a princess to wear something that hideous."

"That's exactly what I was going for: hideous." I lied, grimacing. I, for one, liked my shoes.

I started to walk away, hoping to leave Stephanie far behind, but she stopped me before I could.

"Wait! I figured out a way to prove my duchess-ness." She told me, smiling. "I applied for Dutch citizenship."

Dani let out a short, sharp, amused laugh, her hand flying to her mouth. Stephanie glared at her, then smiled back at me.

"And I also got you a bodyguard." She added, clapping her hands. Gus raced to my side and stood there, his back stiff and unnaturally straight.

"This really isn't necessary." I assured her, trying to back away. "Dani and I were just hoping to eat our lunches in peace."

Dani took my queue and stood up, intending on following me to find somewhere else for us to eat, but Gus stopped us.

"No, you can't eat that!" He told me, slapping the chopsticks out of my hands. "The Calderianian rebels might be trying to poison you. I need to taste it first."

Before I could even protest, Gus grabbed a piece of sushi out of my tray and popped it into his mouth. He chewed it slowly, then smiled. "It's good." He assured us. "It's really good. Not toenail good, but it'll do."

Without a warning, he took the entire sushi tray from me and walked off, digging into my lunch.

"C'mon!" I complained, watching him go. Dani chuckled.

"Yeah, I saw that one coming." She chuckled before glancing at me. "I've got an extra salad in my bag – Ollie's always forgetting his lunch."

**Barry's POV**

"So, I guess Mr. Camido isn't a superhero." I hummed, disappointed. I'd spent the last several weeks pouring over comics in the Domain – working there with Gus gave me easy access to them – and after everything I'd seen lately, I just knew that superheroes had to be real. But perhaps Jordan and I should have targeted someone else. Alivia, perhaps. I was fairly sure that she was the hero Geminus, judging by the fact that she seemed to be able to be everywhere at once, and her appearance greatly resembled the comics.

"Hey, wanna go grab a bite to eat or something?" Jordan suggested. I nodded.

"Yeah, sure." I agreed. "I just need to grab my History textbook. I think I left it in Mr. Camido's room."

We walked into the classroom, just to see Principal Howard standing by the desk, his back turned to us. "This is unit 238," he spoke into a metal device on his arm. "Captain Atomic is no longer a threat. I've downloaded your final instructions and I'm installing them now."

To our surprise, we saw him plug a USB drive into his ear.

"What the…?" I questioned, confused. Jordan grinned as our principal spun around.

"Aha!" She exclaimed. "You were talking about Captain Atomic! We were right; superheroes DO exist!"

I turned to look at her. "So the fact that he just put a flash drive into his head, you're not going to comment on that?"

"I just have to take a picture." Jordan smiled, ignoring me. She walked up to Principal Howard, pulling out her phone.

"Jordan, maybe that's not such a good idea." Something seemed off here. Principal Howard wasn't particularly brave – I knew for a fact that he had a full-on panic attack one time when some kid nearly knocked him into the school's pool – nor was he particularly helpful to anyone in the school. And his little message seemed a little weird. Something was definitely off here.

"Please, Barry." Jordan rolled her eyes and posed with our principal. "I can't believe superheroes are actually real."

Principal Howard reached out and snatched the cell phone from her. "Well, unfortunately for you, so are supervillains." He growled, his eyes literally turning red. Oh, crud.

**Xxx**

While, I didn't have any particular plans for tonight, I certainly wasn't expecting to find myself tied up and held hostage with Jordan in my history classroom by our principal. Said principal glared at us, his red eyes shining.

"Who is the third Normo that works with you at Mighty Med?" He demanded, for about the fifth time. What he was asking made no sense. I figured by 'Normo' he meant normal people, but what the hell was Mighty Med? And why did he think we worked there?

"We don't know what you're talking about!" I told him.

"But it is so cool how your eyes glow red when you're angry." Jordan added, obviously trying to butter him up.

"Let's see how cool it is when I destroy you, like this." He raised his arm, the one with the metallic device on it, and pressed a button on the device. It shot a blast of energy at the globe that was sitting on a nearby bookshelf. Jordan and I watched in horror as it melted before our eyes.

"We don't know anything, I swear." Jordan told Principal Howard, looking as desperate as I felt.

"Please." Principal Howard rolled his eyes. "There are three Normos working at Mighty Med – two boys and a girl – and I know they go to this school. You have to be them!" He told us.

Two boys and a girl. Oliver, Kaz, and Dani. I should have known. I'd suspected for a long time that they were keeping a big secret from the rest of us, and this would completely fit.

"Dani, Oliver, and Kaz." Jordan realized, speaking out loud. "Of course! That's where they go after school everyday!"

"Dani, Oliver, and Kaz…" Principal Howard hummed thoughtfully. "Thank you for that information, Miss Zuehlsdorff."

I smirked. "Your last name is Zuehlsdorff?" I chuckled. "No wonder you never use it."

"Make fun of it, and I'll kill you." Jordan threatened.

"I'll have to make sure that Kaz and the siblings are the right Normos before I take them to my superior." Principal Howard said to himself, ignoring us. He grabbed Jordan's phone off the desk and tossed it to her. She caught it in her bound hands. "Facetime Kaz. It's four o'clock; he might be in Mighty Med right now."

"You know my laptop has a bigger screen. We should use that." I offered. Jordan nodded eagerly.

"We'll go get it." She agreed. We tried to stand, but Principal Howard stopped us.

"Nice try." He told us before his eyes glowed a dark shade of red.

**Oliver's POV**

"You know, I should really get you to pay me if I'm going to fill out your paperwork for you." I commented, handing Kaz a stack of papers. He smirked.

"You don't make Dani pay you." He pointed out, just as his phone began to buzz. He pressed a button on the screen and answered the Facetime call.

"Kaz, it's Principal Howard." I looked up, surprised. Kaz's eyes widened.

"Principal Howard." He chuckled nervously, eyes darting towards me for a second. "Okay, if this is about the fake vomit on your desk, I didn't put it there. I only use real vomit; when I pull a prank, I commit."

"I'm actually calling to apologize for Mr. Camido's behavior today." Suddenly, Kaz waved me over. I stepped behind him, not close enough for Principal Howard to see me, but enough so that I could see Jordan and Barry sitting behind our principal. Something was clearly wrong; Jordan was mouthing the word 'help' over and over again, while Barry was mouthing 'he's evil'. "Would you mind filming the entire room so I can be sure that you're safe, and that Alivia and Oliver aren't traumatized."

"Actually, Alivia is extremely traumatized." Said red-head was just entering the room as Kaz said that. She stopped, looking at him like he was an idiot. "Yeah, she's…crying like a big baby. Better go get her a pacifier!"

He hung up quickly. "Like a baby?" Alivia questioned, approaching us.

"Principal Howard is a villain." Kaz told her. She frowned.

"How do you know?" She questioned.

"We're pretty sure he's holding Jordan and Barry hostage." At least, that's how it looked. "We need to rescue her."

"Alright, let's go." Alivia nodded, beginning to head for the door.

"Wait, you can't fight him alone. He's got hostages, and we don't know what he can actually do." I reminded her. She gave me a look.

"Please, Oliver. When I'm involved, it's always three against one." She replied cockily before heading out the door. Kaz and I exchanged looks – we loved Alivia and we were always grateful to have her on our side, but she could get overconfident at times, and we both knew she would need back up for this.

"There's Captain Atomic!" Kaz pointed out.

"I hope he's not still mad at us." I mentioned before rushing up to the hero. He dumped his box of office supplies onto the counter.

"Go away. I'm still mad at you." He told us, still sounding hurt. "Because of you, I can't complete my mission."

"We're really sorry." Kaz apologized. "But the chatter you've been hearing is true. Principal Howard really is a villain."

"Geminus has gone to fight him, but she's going to need help." I added.

"I knew Principal Howard was a villain. To the school!" Captain Atomic declared. "But you walk – I'm still mad at you."

**Barry's POV**

"Look, since we don't know anything, can't you just let us go?" Jordan pleaded with Principal Howard.

"I'm afraid not." He told us. "And since you know my secret, I'm going to have to destroy you."

"In a classroom?" I questioned, frowning. That'd be a crappy place to die. "Can't you just drop us into a tank of sharks or a pit of snakes instead? That would at least be a cool way to die."

"Barry's right." Jordan nodded eagerly, picking up on where I was heading with this. "Why don't you set that up, and we'll meet you there?"

He almost fell for it. Almost. "Cut it out!" He snapped at us. Jordan and I quieted down as he rolled up his sleeve even more, revealing his whole arm. The metal device was the most noticeable part of it, looking futuristic and high-tech. It spanned from just below his elbow to the back of the wrist, about an inch higher than the infinity symbol that was tattooed to the inside of his wrist.

He raised his arm, about to destroy us like he did the globe, but was stopped by a sudden shout. "Hey!"

He spun around to see a tall, green-clothed superheroine with long, fiery red hair. I recognized her easily, knowing Alivia's voice when I heard it.

"Geminus." Principal Howard smirked. "They sent a sidekick to deal with me?"

"Well, why waste the big guns on someone as pathetic as you?" She teased.

"Oh my gosh, Alivia IS Geminus!" Jordan exclaimed. Alivia looked at us, exasperated.

"Really Jordan? What is the point of having a secret identity if you're just going to blurt my name out like-" She didn't get the chance to finish, however, before Principal Howard blasted her with his weapon. She hit the ground, but rolled over onto her back. As she did, her body seemed to melt before our eyes, splitting into three identical versions of herself. They all got to their feet, and charged at Principal Howard, but he seemed to be prepared for it.

He shot one in the chest before ducking past another to punch the third Alivia in the throat. The red-head stumbled back in surprise, coughing and gasping, but it was like the other two didn't notice. The one that wasn't attacked slammed her elbow into Principal Howard's back.

Her elbow bounced off with a clang and she cried out in pain, clutching it tightly. Principal Howard, not at all hurt by her attack, rushed into her, knocking her onto the ground outside the classroom. She hit the ground hard, and her duplicates disappeared.

"Liv!" I shouted, craning my neck to get a better look at things. Principal Howard grabbed her by her arm, ignoring her pained cry as he forced to her feet.

"Unhand that girl!" I could barely see him through the doorway, but I was certain that it was Mr. Camido who had come to our friend's rescue. "I don't mean remove her hands, I mean – you know what I mean!"

Then we heard the sounds of energy blasts before Kaz and Oliver slipped into the classroom. "Are you guys alright?" Kaz demanded as he untied Jordan's hands. Oliver undid the ropes around mine.

"We're fine, but we're gonna talk about this." I told them.

"Figured." Oliver agreed as we slipped out of the classroom. Mr. Camido had Principal Howard pinned up against the wall, with Alivia hanging back by the stairs, keeping her eyes locked on the battle. We scurried over to the lockers, their doors slightly ajar.

"Watch out!" Kaz warned as one of Principal Howard's energy blasts (well, that's not something I ever thought I'd say) went wild. Oliver pulled the locker door towards him, using it to deflect the shot.

"We need a better place to hide." Oliver muttered. I looked to my left.

"Over here!" I suggested, making a break for it. I raced over to just behind the staircase, where we could avoid being attacked and watch the fight. Oliver and Kaz followed behind, but Jordan stayed where she was, seemingly frozen by shock. "Jordan, come on!"

She didn't seem to hear me, unable to draw her attention from the fight. Principal Howard landed a few good punches to Mr. Camido's stomach, which knocked him backwards so that he was only a couple of feet in front of Jordan. Principal Howard smirked and shot a blast of energy, but Mr. Camido leapt out of the way. Unfortunately, the energy blast rebounded off the locker and right into Jordan's shoulder.

"Jordan!" Oliver shouted as she hit the ground, unconscious.

"C'mon!" I hissed to Kaz before bolting to Jordan's side. Kaz followed my lead and grabbed the girl by her arms. I took her legs and together we got our friend out of harm's way.

Meanwhile, Mr. Camido had resorted to using a yo-yo to protect himself and Alivia, but for some reason, spinning it around in a circle at light speeds turned it into a pretty good shield. I mean, logically, it made no sense at all, but since it was obvious that we were dealing with beings and items that didn't obey the laws of reality, I figured, what the hell?

"They won't last like that." Kaz commented. I nodded.

"Sooner or later, the force field will break." It made sense. "And Liv's injured."

"We have to help them." Oliver agreed as Mr. Camido stumbled. Alivia grabbed his arm with her good hand, trying to support him, but it was obvious that she was in a fair bit of pain.

Then, the doors to the left opened up and Connie, Gus, Stephanie, and Dani walked in. They all stopped in the doorway, staring at the scene in front of them in surprise. Then, Connie leapt into action. She jumped into the air, spinning around and kicking her legs at Principal Howard before swinging a couple of punches his way.

Dani, on the other hand, skirted around the edge of the fight until she reached our hiding place. She plopped herself down between Kaz and Oliver, then looked back at the fight. "So what-cha doin'?" She questioned, mimicking that Isabelle girl from Phineas and Ferb.

"Oh, well, Principal Howard is an evil android, and Captain Atomic and Alivia are getting their butts kicked. Oh, and Jordan and Barry know about superheroes." Kaz supplied. Dani nodded.

"Oh, okay." She accepted his response.

"I can't believe what I'm seeing!" Stephanie exclaimed. "Principal Howard is a rebel from Calderiania trying to attack the princess!"

"Wha-" Oliver began to ask, but Dani cut him off.

"They think that she's a princess from the country Calderiania whose father is at war with rebels." She explained.

"Gotcha." Oliver nodded. I stared at them, then shook my head.

"You guys are weird." I commented.

"And you're just figuring this out now?" Dani commented, smirking sideways at me as Connie was thrown into a wall of lockers.

"Stephanie, Gus, run!" She ordered.

"Connie, as your royal bodyguard, it is my duty to protect you from danger!" Gus tried to object, but the moment he saw Principal Howard fire a laser from his arm, he retracted his statement. "I tender my resignation!" He shouted before running from the room.

"Hey!" To my surprise, Stephanie didn't follow Gus' lead. She pulled one of her shoes off. "Nobody hurts my princess!" She exclaimed before charging at Principal Howard and proceeding to attack him with it.

He pushed her away after her blows did no damage, and raised his arm to shoot her, but Mr. Camido got to him first, tackling him out of nowhere.

"Stephanie, wait for me in the courtyard!" Connie ordered. Stephanie nodded, curtsied, then bolted from the room.

"He's unbeatable." I muttered to Kaz, Dani, and Oliver. My ex-girlfriend shook her head.

"No way. No one is unbeatable." She told me. "He's got a weakness, we just need to figure out what it is."

"Well, I'm pretty sure he's the same model android as those in the Rise of the Cabal of Chaos." Oliver mentioned.

"Right!" Kaz nodded. He looked towards the fight. "Captain Atomic! Remove the flash drive from behind his ear!"

"So that is Captain Atomic?" I demanded, only for Dani to hush me.

"What's a flash drive?" He questioned in response before Principal Howard blasted him in the stomach. Captain Atomic hit the lockers and slid to the ground, injured.

"We got this!" Alivia called. She dropped the hand that was clutching her injured arm, then looked at Connie. "Girl power?"

"Always." Connie replied with a smile. They turned on Principal Howard, then rushed at him, tackling him to the ground. Connie held him down while Alivia pulled the flash drive from behind his ear, rolling out of the way the moment it was in her hands.

Principal Howard pushed Connie away, then raised his arm to attack Alivia, but Connie grabbed him from behind, sticking a silver key into the flash drive's slot in his head.

Our principal began to short circuit and spark before stiffening. His eyes turned bright red and his ears began to smoke before finally, his head literally popped off his body. The body ran around in a panic, bolting from the school.

"Well that's not something you see everyday." Kaz commented, watching the headless body flee the scene.

Dani, Kaz, Oliver, Captain Atomic, Connie, Alivia, and I approached the android's head, watching it with unease. "Well, we better take our headmaster to Mighty Max prison for a detention." Oliver commented. We all looked at him. "Get it? Because-"

"We get it. It just wasn't that funny." Connie commented. I looked around at the scene around us. Androids, superheroes, headless bodies, and princesses? Today was too much.

"Okay, someone explain, now." I ordered. Before anyone could, we heard some shuffling from behind us.

"Jordan!" Oliver remembered. We jogged over to her as she began to rise, a confused look on her face.

"A little groggy, but I'm fine." She assured us. I glanced over my shoulder to see Connie and Captain Atomic leave, Principal Howard's head stuffed into a backpack. Alivia hung back, once again clutching her injured arm.

"Okay, you guys probably have a lot of questions." Oliver stated the obvious. Jordan nodded, frowning.

"Yeah, what happened here?" She asked, wincing as she brought her hand up to her head. "I can't remember anything."

"You can't?" Dani questioned slowly as the rest of us exchanged looks.

"I can't remember anything either." The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. I had hated how Dani had lied to me in the past, and then her, Kaz, and Oliver when we were friends, but now I understood why. All of this, this was dangerous and crazy. My head was spinning, and I had the feeling that I'd only just barely scraped the surface of the superhero world. If lying to her was the best way to protect Jordan from it, so be it.

"Me either." Dani agreed.

"Must be the radiation." Oliver commented. Kaz began to make beeping sounds again, then Oliver, then me, then finally a very confused Dani. Jordan just looked at us, then walked away, confused.

"Okay, now the real explanation please." I told them, looking at all of them pointedly.

"Can it wait, actually?" Alivia interrupted us. She glanced at her arm. "I think I broke my arm."

"Let me see." Oliver sighed and drew her over to the stairs. She held out her arm, sucking in a gasp as she tried to straighten it. "We should probably get this x-rayed."

"I'll go grab my wallet and we can grab a cab." Kaz offered, walking away. I turned to Dani.

"Well, I guess it's up to you to explain." I commented.

"Darn it." She muttered under her breath. She sighed and jerked her head at the school doors. "C'mon. It's a long story, so we might as well go get smoothies or something."

**Skylar's POV**

"Stephanie, that was amazing!" I exclaimed, bursting out of the school. I couldn't believe what she had done, just to protect me. "I can't believe you risked your high heel wedges for me!"

"Well, I already wore them twice, so I was going to throw them out anyway." She replied, shrugging it off. She looked at me hopefully. "So can I become a member of the Calderianian royalty now?"

Well, what the hell? "Sure." I agreed. "Why not?"

She gushed in happiness as I pulled a pen out of my pocket. I touched both her shoulders with it. "I now dub thee Duchess Stephanie of Calderiania. You may rise."

"I'm already standing." She pointed out. I shrugged.

"I know. They just always say that." I replied. At least they did in the movies I'd seen.

"This is so exciting!" She exclaimed as Gus walked into the courtyard. "I can't wait to tell everyone I'm a duchess and make them feel, like, even worse about themselves!"

"No!" I stopped her. "You can't tell anyone! Because…" I scrambled for a reason. "You wouldn't be safe. No one can ever know about this."

"Right." She sighed and turned around to face Gus. I noticed that she slipped off one shoe and picked it up in her hands. "Sorry Gus, but I'm going to have to execute you."

"No!" I stopped her before she could commit murder. "Gus can know! It's not like anyone believes anything he says anyway."

"Gee, I wonder why?" Stephanie smirked.

"I detect a hint of sarcasm." He accused.


	11. Living the Dream

**Oliver's POV**

"So, does Batman exist?" Barry questioned, walking backwards in front of us as we made our way to school. I nearly groaned; ever since he discovered that superheroes were real and we agreed to not wipe his memory if he promised not to tell anyone, the older boy had been full of questions, and had yet to leave us alone. Still, even though he was starting to get on my last nerve, it was a better option than the alternative. If Horace found out that a kid from school knew the truth, Kaz, Dani, and I would be in deep trouble, and it would be nearly impossible to wipe Barry's mind without getting caught. Not to mention, the memory eraser would delete every memory he had, and it would be pretty hard to explain to Barry's parents why their son had amnesia.

"Not sure, haven't met him yet." Kaz clarified.

"But according to Spark, Nightwing does, and supposedly, he's hot." Dani added. Kaz shot her a look and she smirked, sticking her tongue out at him. Then she frowned. "Huh, I thought they weren't going to start construction until next week."

I looked past Barry to see that there was a massive hole in the ground in front of the school, yellow tape surrounding it. Men in orange vests walked around the construction site. My sister walked ahead of me, grabbing Kaz's hand as she reached the group. "I guess they started early." Kaz shrugged.

"So does anyone know WHY they're doing all this construction?" Barry questioned as Gus walked over to us. "Gus, you know?"

"No idea, but check it out!" Gus grinned, bending down to retrieve a dirt-covered shoe box from the pile of dirt. "They dug up the time capsule I buried!"

"Cool." Dani commented. Gus chuckled, looking at the contents of the box. He pulled out a photograph.

"We looked so ridiculous back then." He sighed. I craned my neck to get a better look at the photo, but it appeared to be a fairly recent picture.

"When did you bury that thing?" Kaz questioned, also noting the age of the picture.

"Last week." Gus replied cheerfully. Yeah, not all that surprising.

Dani chuckled and went to walk towards the school, but I stopped her as she got too close to the edge of the hole. "Be careful." I warned her. "I read that one hundred percent of construction site accidents happen at construction sites." They all looked at me. "It was an obvious, but nonetheless important, article."

Suddenly, my phone vibrated. I reached for it, but the second it was out of my jeans, it slipped through my fingers and hit the ground near the hole. "Damn it." I muttered, bending down to grab it. Thankfully, the fall hadn't damaged the screen at all.

I went to turn back to my friends, when one of the construction workers dropped a heavy bag of cement on the back of the piece of plywood I was standing on, and it worked like a lever, my end going straight upwards. It knocked me off balance and into the hole.

"Ah!" I groaned in complaint as I hit the dirt floor, a sharp rock breaking my hall. I climbed back to my feet, grabbing the rock as I went, a little put off by my fall.

"Oliver, you okay?" Kaz demanded, offering me his hand while Dani held the yellow tape high enough for me to climb under. Kaz helped pull me out.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I assured them. "Luckily, this rock broke my fall." I winced, rubbing my side. "And possibly my pelvis."

Suddenly, my vision went all weird, lights flashing in my eyes for a moment before someone's grip on my arm brought me back to reality.

"Are you sure you're okay?" My sister demanded, steadying me. I nodded, pulling my arm away.

"Yeah, I just got a little dizzy." I assured her. She frowned, not buying it. "Dee, chill. I'm okay."

"If you're sure..." Kaz looked at me pointedly. "You look like you're in shock."

"I would be too if I had aged as badly as you have." Gus agreed, holding out the picture to compare it to me. "You've really let yourself go."

**Dani's POV**

"He's adorable, Tecton." I glanced up at the blonde haired hero before turning back to the little, blue-eyed baby boy in my arms. The baby giggled pleasantly, reaching up to try and tug at my bangs.

"Yeah, yeah." The man sighed. He glanced at Clone Master. "Any tips on the whole 'Dad' thing?"

The duplicator chuckled. "Afraid not. Gem here was an easy one." He patted his daughter's shoulder as she bent over the chair to get a better look at little Benjamin. "But best of luck."

"Ugh, children." Ambrose, Mighty Med's personal comic book artist, grimaced at the sight. "What messy things."

"Well, I think they're adorable." Alivia retorted, smiling down at the baby. Ambrose rolled his eyes and turned to Tecton.

"Now, Tecton, I believe we need discuss your most recent 'adventures' in the superhero world." He told the hero. Tecton crossed his arms.

"What about them?" He questioned.

"Well, they're awfully…dull, aren't they?" Ambrose questioned. Tecton frowned, obviously disliking Ambrose's comment. "Readers are looking for variety, my good man, but yours are quite the opposite."

Just then, doors to the rec room swung open, Kaz walking in with a smile on his face.

"Ambrose, my man!" He greeted, walking up.

"I'm not a man, I'm a mutant. Which is why I can see in my mind's eye all the events in the superhero world as they occur, and draw comic books at lightning speed." The uptight comic book artist corrected him. "It's also why I chew gum like this."

He took a piece of gum out of his pocket, unwrapped it, then placed it in his mouth before beginning to chew. He paused mid-chew, and a pink bubble sprouted from his ear. Kaz just frowned and turned to Tecton. "Tecton, my man!" He exclaimed. "What's up?"

"Ambrose is complaining that the Tecton comic books have been boring lately." Tecton explained. He looked at Ambrose. "I can't help it if I always win so easily. That's not boring, that's consistent."

"Consistently boring." Ambrose corrected. Tecton rolled his eyes. "So sales are down, and who gets blamed? Me! I've been thrown out of my office and I'm forced to use Lizard Man's back as a desk."

"Legit?" Alivia looked surprised.

"Legit." Ambrose mimicked her tone. Kaz smirked.

"Sucker." He teased before leaning on the back of my chair. "Hey Baby Tecton. What's up with you, little man?" He held his fist close to the baby, who slapped it with his little hand, giggling at Kaz's smile.

"Hey Ollie." I looked up as my brother walked into the rec room. "Wanna play with Baby Tecton?"

"You know his name is Benjamin, right?" Tecton asked us, frowning.

"Baby Tecton is cuter." Alivia assured him.

"No thanks." Ollie told me, staying far, far away. I sighed.

"Coward." He really needed to get over his fear of babies. It was irrational, and honestly, just a little weird.

"At least I can swim." My brother muttered. I looked away, annoyed. "Anyway, you guys won't believe this dream I had last night."

"Yeah, is the same one where you and Skylar-" He cut me off mid-sentence.

"Not that one!" He told me. I smirked smugly and adjusted my position. "It was, like, a thousand years ago and I was onboard an alien spaceship that was carrying something called the Arcturion, an object so powerful that whoever gets their hands on it would become invincible."

"That is a cool dream." Alivia commented. Kaz nodded and looked up at Ambrose.

"Why don't you just that into a comic book?" He suggested.

"It does have all the necessary ingredients of a story." Ambrose said thoughtfully, considering it. "Except a hero, because it can't be Oliver. Look at him."

"Come on, man." Ollie just shook his head at the mutant.

"I'm not a man, I'm a-"

"They know." Clone Master patted his shoulder before walking out, shaking his head.

"What about Tecton?" I suggested. The blonde-haired hero looked up, surprised. "Make him the hero and just use the story from Ollie's dream in the next Tecton issue?"

"Yeah, and I could give you more details." Ollie agreed, pulling his journal out of his backpack. "I wrote it all down in my dream journal/feelings journal/Dani-and-Kaz-stop-reading-my-journal journal."

"Perfect." Ambrose smiled. "Oliver, I'll even give you a writing credit."

"That would be an honor." Ollie smiled brightly for a brief moment before his face fell. "But my mom would kill me if she found out I was writing comic books instead of studying."

"There's a whole chapter about that in his journal." Kaz mentioned to Tecton and Alivia.

"Just use a pseudonym." I suggested. Kaz frowned, so I elaborated. "Authors often use pen names when publishing books."

"Cool." Kaz nodded, thinking hard. "You could use…I know! Quimby Fletcher."

"Quimby Fletcher?" Alivia echoed, raising an eyebrow. Ollie grinned.

"I like it." He replied. Ambrose nodded.

"Quimby Fletcher it is." He decided. I glanced at Kaz, trailing my finger down his arm.

"How'd you come up with that?" I questioned.

"It's a combination of my favorite words." He explained. "'Blech', 'quit', 'fry', and 'me'."

"Clever." Alivia rolled her eyes. I smirked, agreeing with her.

**Xxx**

"Wow." I commented as I pushed through the crowd in the Domain. In the past couple of months, the place had been sparse, the only thing keeping it running being Gus' dad's oversized wallet, but today, that wasn't the case; the entire shop was filled with teenagers, and even a few adults, all of them pouring over a large stand of comics. I ducked past a group of people, dodging my way through the crowd until I met up with Kaz, Ollie, Barry, and Alivia near the couch.

"There you are." Kaz chuckled. There was no room on the couch, so I sat down on Kaz's lap, not that he minded much. He just adjusted his legs, wrapping his arm around my waist.

"I have never seen so many people in here before." I commented, crossing my legs. Ollie smirked.

"And it's all because of me." He added proudly. Kaz looked up at him sharply.

"Um, aren't you forgetting someone?" He questioned.

"Yeah," Alivia nodded. "Don't forget about that creepy, super-aggressive mime that people ran in here to avoid."

I glanced out the window to see said mime bothering another couple of people. "I meant me." Kaz grumbled. I laughed lightly, placing my arm on his shoulder.

"Everything is crazy about this comic." Barry agreed. "Too bad this Arcturion isn't real."

"Yeah, and what would you want with it?" Alivia questioned. Barry smirked.

"I could become a superhero." He suggested. I groaned in frustration.

"Not you too." I jerked my thumb at Kaz. "He's been trying ever since he found out that he's going to work for the League of Heroes in the future."

"Wait? There's a League of Heroes now too?" Apparently, we hadn't told Barry that bit of information yet.

"Keep your voice down." Alivia hushed him. "But yes, there is."

"They all love my comic." Ollie ignored the two.

"No, they love Quimby Fletcher's comic." Kaz corrected. "A name that I created. And it was my idea to make your dream a comic book, and to make Tecton the hero. So I'm as much Quimby Fletcher as you are, which you would know if you would have bothered to read the entry that I wrote for you in your feelings journal."

I reached into my brother's bag, which was sitting against the base of the couch, and pulled out the deep blue notebook. I offered it to him. "Seriously, you should read it. He goes on about it for pages."

"Yeah, no thanks." Ollie rolled his eyes, snatching the journal back from me. "I gotta go. I've got homework to do."

"Nerd!" I called after him.

"Flunk-Out!" He called back. I laughed lightly, not particularly offended, then turned to Kaz, smiling.

"My brother's gone." I told him. He smirked and leaned in, his lips moving against mine hungrily.

"Do you guys just make out every time he leaves the room?" Alivia questioned after about a minute. I pulled away reluctantly, not missing how Kaz's hands dropped lower on my back.

"Pretty much." I replied. I frowned. "Where'd Barry go?"

"He left when you guys started in. And I'm outta here too." She laughed lightly before walking away. I shrugged and leaned in to kiss Kaz again, but unfortunately, we were interrupted.

"Excuse me, miss and mister?" An accented, similar to what I thought a Jersey accent sounded like, asked. Two men were standing above us. One of them was fairly short, with brown hair and a goatee, while the other guy was large and massive, at least a foot and a half taller than his buddy, and had dark colored skin. "My associate and I are movie producers from Hollywood."

"Wow, really?" Cool!

"Anyway, we're fascinated by this Arcturion story. We'd like to make a movie out of it."

Ollie passed us by on his way out, grabbing his backpack on the way out. "Well, I'm headed back to work where I will help save lives, and you will try to take credit for it. Right, Quimby Fletcher?"

He walked out, leaving the movie producers pleased. "You're Quimby Fletcher?" They questioned.

"That's what you heard, isn't it?" Kaz replied, grinning. I bit back a groan.

"Well, I'm staying out of this." I climbed off of Kaz's lap. He looked disappointed, but I figured this would end with an argument between the boys, and the less involved I was, the better. I kissed him on the cheek. "I will see you later."

I glanced over my shoulder as I left, smirking as I saw Kaz talking animatedly with the producers. Why did I have a feeling that this wasn't going to end well?

**Kaz's POV**

"You guys are making a huge mistake." I said nervously. Those 'movie producers' had led me out of the store, then held me at freaking gunpoint and forced me into a car. The car drove around the city a couple of times before stopping at an office building. They pushed me into a chair and tied me up. "And I'm not talking about the fact that you rented way too much office space for just two people."

"You're the one who made a mistake by writing that comic book and telling the world about the Arcturion." The short one told me. "My boss won't stop until he gets his hands on it and becomes the most powerful man on Earth."

"Wait, th-the Arcturion is real?" But Oliver said it was just a dream! And I'd never heard of the Arcturion before, so how could it be real? "And you're henchmen for some villain?"

"I wish." The short guy said wistfully. "Right now, we're just lackeys, hoping to be promoted to goons. But if we bring our boss the Arcturion, we skip goon and go straight to henchmen."

"Well, if you let me go, I would be happy to write you a recommendation." I offered.

"Quiet!" He snapped. "We ain't foolin' around, kid. Are we Richie?"

To my shock, the taller guy raised his fist, which began to glow, and slammed it into the wall, creating a massive dent in it. Then the short guy hissed at me, a snake-like tongue slipping out from his mouth. "Now tell us where the Arcturion is, kid, or things are gonna get weird."

"That wasn't the weird part?!" I demanded, staring at him. I looked between the two lackeys, and gulped. "Please, I didn't even know that the Arcturion was real! And I can't tell you anything because the whole comic book was based on a dream!"

"Dream, huh?" The short guy looked at his partner. "That confirms it. The boss said the Arcturion spaceship had a device on it that transmitted all the information about the Arcturion into the dreams of whoever touched it."

Nice job, Oliver.

"Now we're gonna hook you up to our dream imager and get all the information we need directly from your brain. And then we're gonna eliminate you!" The short guy declared, sounding a little too eager on the last bit.

"I'm not even Quimby Fletcher!" I protested.

"Then who is?" The short guy demanded.

"I don't know." I lied. "But I don't have any information in my brain. Any of my teachers could tell you that!"

"We'll see soon enough." He motioned for his partner to go grab a device off of a counter.

"And if you see that I don't know anything, you'll let me go?" I asked hopefully.

"No." He looked at me like I was an idiot. "We just told you our whole plan; we still gotta eliminate you."

**Dani's POV**

"Ollie?" I ducked into the rec room at Mighty Med, looking for my brother. I found him sitting on the couch, chatting with Tecton and Ambrose.

"The Arcturion comic is a big hit." Ambrose was saying. "In fact, it's selling so well that Horace got me a fancy new desk."

"How fancy?" I inquired, sitting down next to Ollie.

"Lizard Man is now wearing a tuxedo! And a hat!" Ambrose proclaimed.

"Cool." I grinned. Alivia walked into the room, looking around. "Hey Geminus."

"Hey, have you guys seen Kaz?" She questioned, frowning. "He's not answering his phone, and usually when one of you don't answer your phone, you've gotten yourselves into trouble. Again."

"That doesn't happen that often." I commented.

"Once a week. At least." She insisted. I rolled my eyes.

"And Kaz is fine. He's just…busy." I assured her. Ollie looked suspicious.

"Doing what?" He questioned. I sighed; I might as well tell him.

"So, these guys came into the Domain today, and they were movie producers, and when they heard you call Kaz 'Quimby Fletcher', they wanted to talk to him about making the comic into a movie." I explained. Ollie stared at me, furious. "And he's selling the rights right now."

"Ugh. I hope it's not the same guys that made 'Tecton Lives'." Tecton commented after making a disgusted noise. "They cast Jonah Hill as me. Jonah Hill!"

"That movie was horrible." I agreed.

"I can't believe him." Ollie shook his head, frustrated, before looking at Ambrose. "Ambrose, can you do me a favor and use your powers to draw where Kaz is so I can go stop him?"

Ambrose nodded and grabbed a piece of paper off of the table. He bent over it, and his eyes began to glow as his hands moved over the paper at light speed. When he was done, he handed us the sheet. "Uh, those don't look like Hollywood producers…" Ollie commented. I frowned, agreeing with him; the images made it look more like Kaz had been kidnapped or something.

"It looks like he was tricked by some kind of henchmen."

"Actually, they look more like lackeys to me, but you are right." Tecton commented.

"See? In trouble, again." Alivia sighed. She looked at the comic book artist. "Ambrose, can you tell us where this is?"

"Hold on." Tecton stopped him, pointing at a tiny window in the comic page. "Through that window – that's the National Bank building. I got in a huge fight near there last week, with Jenn. She's always like 'You have super-hearing, but you never listen.'"

"Wait, doesn't Mom's company have a building near there? It's being renovated, right?" I remembered my mother mentioning something like that the last time we spoke.

"It'd be the perfect place to take a hostage." Ollie agreed.

"Let's go." Alivia led the way out of the room.

**Xxx**

When Tecton makes an entrance, he makes an entrance. Instead of going all the way around the hallway, trying to find the door to the room, the blonde haired hero simply charged through the wall, and kept going, taking the taller of the two lackeys with him. Alivia followed suit, tackling the shorter guy. Usually, she's split into two or three, but I guess with a guy his size, she felt it would be a waste of time. While the heroes fought the lackeys, Ollie and I ran to Kaz, who was sitting, unconscious, in an office chair, tied up and wearing a weird device on his head.

"What is this?" I questioned as I pulled the device off Kaz's head. It looked weird, like some kind of sci-fi brain scanner. Ollie didn't answer, instead pulling Kaz's chair out of the way as Alivia and the short dude's fight drew closer.

"Ah!" The lackey complained as Alivia roundhouse kicked him in the gut. Ollie and I winced sympathetically as he hit the ground. He recovered quickly, literally jumping to his feet. Dang, someone was agile.

"Okay, the gloves are off, sweetheart." He told Alivia, pulling off his gloves and tossing them to the ground. Okay, someone was clearly dramatic and cliché. But then he leapt onto the wall, gripping onto it like a lizard or a spider would.

"Seriously, man?" Alivia demanded, staring at him. He pushed off of it and practically flew to a wall coloumn, gripping it in the same way. He looked back at her, a forked tongue sticking out.. "Okay, that is just gross."

She tried to rush him, but he opened his mouth and shot a large blob of green goop at her. It caught onto her hand, sticking it against the barrier behind her. "Gross." I commented. Alivia pulled at it, but couldn't move.

"Tecton!" She called over her shoulder. "When you're done with the not-so-friendly giant over there, I could use a hand!"

"Kinda busy!" Tecton retorted from where he was grappling with the bigger of the two lackeys. But now that Alivia was unable to fight, the shorter guy drew his attention to Tecton, shooting a blast of that green goop at Tecton. He managed to avoid the first blast, but as he went to help Alivia, the short, lizard dude hit him with another, bigger blob. This blob encased the hero completely, until a giant, green, blobby statue stood in the middle of the room.

The bigger of the two lackeys grabbed the blob and, using all his strength, threw it out of the window, flying past buildings as it began its descent to the ground.

Alivia gulped nervously, watching the lackeys as she desperately tried to pull her arm away from the wall. The two lackeys advanced on her menacingly.

"Hey!" I shouted, trying to draw their attention away from her. But unfortunately, and I definitely should have seen this coming, it got their attention on us.

"Dani!" Ollie snapped. Kaz was still unconscious, and we were totally defenseless.

"Not my best idea, I admit." I laughed nervously, shrinking back against the wall as the short guy took a step towards us. Thankfully, Tecton must have been able to escape the blob, because he came flying in through the window at that moment.

The two lackeys took one look at him, then fled the room, racing through the hole Tecton had made in the wall. Tecton followed after them. "Kaz?" Ollie turned to the black haired boy, shaking him. Kaz's head shot straight up, wide awake.

"Man, why did you wake me up?" He complained after a moment. We all looked at him. "I had the face of an eagle, I was riding on an eagle, and I was the quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles.

We all exchanged looks. "I guess that's the same as 'thank you saving my life'." Alivia drawled.

"Oh, right." Kaz chuckled sheepishly. "Thanks guys."

"I'm just glad you're alright." I told him, before walking away to see if those lackeys left anything in the room.

"Yeah. I'm a little out of it," Kaz admitted, shrugging. "But I'm sure having my brain probed will have no long-lasting side-asnk jsd hbvl yybia."

Ollie, Alivia, and I stared at him, worried, but he just laughed. "I'm screwing with you guys."

"Jerk." Alivia commented, wincing as she once again tried to pull her arm out. "Okay, Tecton got out of this, why can't I?"

"Because Tecton has super-strength?" Ollie suggested.

"Hey cool." I grinned, grabbing a pair of gloves off the ground. They were the same ones the short guy had dropped. They were actually pretty nice, too – they were black leather gloves, similar to those that motorcyclists wore, with a cool circular design in the back with a large letter T in it. "T, huh…Wonder what that's for…"

"You're not keeping those." Ollie told me. I scoffed.

"Sure I am. Souvenir." I grinned, pocketing them. Alivia groaned.

"Will someone please get me out of here?" She demanded, starting to get frustrated.

"Let's go find Tecton." Kaz sighed, gesturing at the hole in the wall. One by one, he, Ollie, and I filed out.

"Wait, don't leave me alone in here!" Alivia called after us, sounding both desperate and annoyed.

**Xxx**

"You think this is going to leave a stain?" Alivia frowned, looking at the light green mark on her superhero gloves. We were back at Mighty Med, relaxing after the excitement of today. Unfortunately, Tecton had not been able to capture the two lackeys, but at least we were all safe.

"Doesn't matter. They're both light green – you can barely tell the difference between the shades." Kaz assured her.

"I can't believe the Arcturion actually exists." I commented, leaning my crossed arms on the counter.

"I thought I'd finally had a creative dream." Ollie sighed, disappointed. "Usually, we're just sitting here like this."

"That's lame." Alivia commented. Ollie nodded in agreement.

"We need to find this Arcturion." I commented. "Before those two lackeys do, and whoever they're working for."

"Or before they find us." Ollie added.

"You don't have to worry about that." Alivia assured us. "I'm going to keep an extra eye on you guys, and Jaime says she'll help too."

"So you guys are going to be following us everything? Even to the washrooms?" Kaz questioned, smirking.

"No way. I ain't following you guys into those pig sties." The red-head retorted. "And besides, they don't even know who Quimby Fletcher is. There's nothing to be scared of."

**Mr. Terror's POV**

"You're scared, aren't you? Well, you should be!" I shouted, furious. I'd given them one mission, one job. Find Quimby Fletcher and interrogate him, but no! Those idiots I hired – Mort and Richie – couldn't be bothered to do a decent job!

"Mr. Terror, sir, we're sorry." Mort apologized fruitlessly. "We barely got away from Tecton and Geminus, and this Quimby Fletcher's really hard to track down!"

"I want the Arcturion found!" I shouted. My entire plan needed it for success. "And bring me Quimby Fletcher; he knows too much."

"Not as much as you." Mort laughed nervously. I rolled my eyes behind the dark hood that concealed my identity – he'd been a suck up since the day I hired him. "You're a genius, a-and handsome. I assume. Well, no one's ever seen you, but you sound handsome!"

"Quiet!" I snapped. "I'll give you one more chance. But if you fail…"

I trailed off, letting them wonder how horrible a punishment I would inflict. I didn't want to kill them, not quite yet. Not because I wasn't prepared to kill, but because it was hard to find lackeys that would accept so little pay, and the two were easy to threaten.

"Yes sir." Mort nodded quickly and bolted from the rom, Richie following him. I sighed.

"This is what I get for sending lackeys to do a henchmen's job." I muttered, shaking my head.


	12. Canaries in a Cage

** Dani's POV **

"How are you not tired?" Alivia muttered, rubbing her eyes. I glanced at the clock on the car's dashboard, smirking at the 6:04 A.M. that shone back at us. "Seriously, any sane person would be exhausted right now, and what happened to jet lag?"

"Doesn't affect me, I guess." I replied, shrugging me. She did have a point – you'd think that I'd be tired seeing as I had to wake up at around 2 to catch a flight back to Philadelphia – but I was wide awake. Maybe it was left over adrenaline from the soccer tournament we just  _dominated,_ or maybe it was excitement for this weekend, but I could barely sit still, let alone feel tired. Alivia, on the other hand, was exhausted and had slept most of the plane ride, despite the fact that she and the rest of the school's cheerleaders barely did anything on the week-long sports trip. "C'mon Liv, aren't you excited?"

"A little." The Irish girl admitted, biting back a yawn. Clone Master glanced at us through the rearview mirror as he pulled into my driveway.

"When are you guys going to be back from your little trip?" He asked, parking the car.

"Sunday night." Alivia replied.

"Thanks for picking us up from the airport." I told him, climbing out of the backseat of his car. Alivia was way ahead of me, already grabbing our bags out of the trunk.

"You're welcome, Dani." The hero smiled at me. "Have fun you too."

"Bye Dad!" Alivia called, handing me my overnight bag. We watched him leave, then headed into the house. Kaz, Ollie, Skylar, and Jaime were already up, in the living room. Jaime and Skylar were in opposite armchairs, debating which villains were more challenging than others, while Kaz and Ollie were totally focused on the new Tecton movie that was playing on TV.

"Who missed me?" I exclaimed, grinning as I walked into the house.

"Shoes, Dee." Ollie commented as I walked up to couch. I raised an eyebrow, and pulled my legs up and placing my feet on the couch. Mom was gone on a business trip, so I wasn't about to follow all the ridiculous rules she had. And besides, it wasn't like my shoes were dirty.

"Hey." I smiled as Kaz wrapped his arm around me. I raised my head and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Happy Birthday."

"Thank you." He grinned back at me.

"Oh, yeah. Happy 17th, man." Alivia mentioned before kissing her own girlfriend. "Hey babe."

"Hey baby." Jaime replied, kissing her back. She looked disappointed when Alivia finally pulled away, but the blonde haired superhero just looked at us. "So, we going soon?"

"Now, actually." Ollie announced, getting off the couch. He grabbed his overnight bag from behind the couch.

"I can't believe you guys convinced Horace to let us borrow the wormhole transporter just to go to Comic Con." Skylar commented.

"It's not just any Comic Con, Skylar. It's the San Diego Comic Con" I insisted.

"What's the difference?" Jaime frowned, confused. I shook my head at them.

"Superheroes." They knew nothing.

"Actually, we're just lucky that he had a spare wormhole transporter." Kaz commented, fetching his bag from the stairs. I frowned.

"What happened to the first one?" I inquired. They all exchanged looks. "Guys?"

"So, you remember how we started talking about how one way I could get powers would be bionic abilities?" Kaz mentioned, smiling guiltily. I nodded.

"Yeah, there was a place in California that you wanted to check…" Then, I got what they weren't saying. "You guys went without me?!"

"Sorry Dee, just couldn't wait." Kaz apologized, trying to put his arm around me. I pushed him away, peeved.

"We were supposed to go together!" I exclaimed.

"Sorry." Ollie apologized. I glared at them for a second, then looked at Kaz.

"Did you at least get superpowers?" I questioned. He sighed and shook his head.

"No." He admitted. "But we did fight the Incapacitator, and Oliver almost got a date."

"Actually, Leo mentioned that she was just trying to make her boyfriend jealous." Oliver explained when he saw my confused look.

"And she thought that would work?" Alivia questioned as she took Jaime's spare hand.

"Yeah, surprised us too." Skylar agreed. She pulled the wormhole transporter out from her bag. "Shall we?"

"We shall." I agreed as we all grabbed ahold of one another. When Ollie placed his hand on Skylar's arm, she hit the button, and a wormhole formed around our group, transporting us to the lobby of a hotel in San Diego. "Let's check in."

** Oliver's POV **

"Wow." I breathed, staring at the convention center in front of us. I'd been to Comic Cons before, since I was eight, in fact, but I'd never seen one so incredibly massive. Everywhere you looked, you could see people, both in cosplay costumes and in regular clothes, browsing through booths and checking out the displays. I could see a group of Stormtroopers to my left, 'arresting' members of the 'rebellion'.

"Couldn't have said it better myself." Dani commented, pulling on her gloves. She was wearing a black uniform, with a long, blonde wig, cosplaying as Black Canary. I sent her a smile, which faded when I got a good look at those gloves

"Wait, I thought I told you to leave those where you found them." I said sternly, recognizing then as the ones she swiped from the lackey that kidnapped Kaz a few weeks ago.

"Well, they stole my boyfriend, so I'm stealing their gloves." Dani reasoned, smirking at me playfully. "Besides, they complete my outfit." I sighed and shook my head. "By the way, nice shield. Where'd you get it?"

"Oh, Gus hooked me up." I replied, looking down at my Captain America shield. I'd been planning my costume for months, and had spent my entire last paycheck on this shield, but it was so worth it. Meanwhile, Kaz was dressed in a skintight, orange, Tecton costume, while Alivia, Skylar, and Jaime had all gone as – surprise, surprise – Geminus, Skylar Storm, and Spark.

"Okay, so I want to check out the Kessel Run." Alivia mentioned, looking over the schedule. "And I want to see the Clone Master Q&A. Apparently, they've got Molly Quinn playing me in movie, and I want to see what she knows about my character."

"Oh, that'll be interesting." Kaz chuckled.

"Try not to go overboard when she doesn't know every single detail of your life." Jaime suggested gently.

"Like you did with the last Spark movie?" Skylar teased.

"Okay, that girl was an idiot, I'll have you know." Jaime defended herself.

"Alright, let's just go, okay?" Kaz grabbed Dani's hand and began to lead her through the crowd, trying to make it to one of the booths. I laughed as we all went, almost losing the rest of the group. Today was going to be awesome.

** Dani's POV **

"I love this." I smiled, examining the giant Rocket Racoon plushy Kaz bought me from one of the booths. Between the Q&As and the sneak peeks, we all managed to get ourselves a few souvenirs from the booths. Between the six of us, we bought several 1st edition comics, a Skylar Storm poster (but if she asks, it's a Solar Flare poster – Ollie thought she'd find it a bit creepy), a toy Atomic Yo-Yo, a Tecton phone case, a replica of the Calderan solar system (according to Skylar, it was fairly accurate), POP! Dolls of Spark, Skylar Storm, and Geminus, a Spotlight stuffed doll (not sure why, but Alivia insisted that she and Jaime could use it to mess with him) and what I'm 95% sure was a zombie Smurf figurine (Mom was going to freak when I put that up in my room).

"Okay, the Kessel Run, then dinner, alright? It's been hours." Alivia insisted.

"Fine, but I want to see the Magic championship, okay? I think the semi-final game starts in a few minutes." Jaime insisted. We all exchanged looks; who knew that Jaime was a fan of Magic?

"I never understood that game." I started saying to Skylar as we made our way through the crowds. As we struggled to get through a particularly large crowd. Then, I suddenly felt Kaz's hand tug on mine as he stopped, his head craning as he tried to look over the crowd. "Kaz?"

"Hey, was that…?" He trailed off, frowning.

"Was that what?" Ollie questioned. Kaz glanced his way, then looked back at the crowd. He scanned it for a moment, then a slow grin formed on his face.

"Hey, Super Sassy!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. "Bionic Arm!"

The crowd parted as two people, a dark skinned boy in a Winter Solider costume and a blonde haired girl in a costume identical to mine, stopped. They looked at us, then started over to us.

"Who're they?" Alivia questioned. I shook my head, confused, but Ollie and Skylar both smiling knowingly.

"Kaz? What are you doing here?" The girl asked, smiling. To my surprise, she gave my boyfriend a hug.

"I think the answer's obvious. Comic Con?" Her friend commented. Ollie nodded.

"You dyed your hair." He noted. "Cool."

"It's only temporary. For the costume." She replied, running her hand through her long locks. She hard darker eyebrows, I noted, so she must originally have either brown or black hair.

"I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met." The dark-skinned boy told me, smiling.

"Dani Short." I introduced myself, looking at them suspiciously. Who were these people?

"I'm Liv, and this Jaime." Alivia added, frowning. "And you are?"

"This is my Leo Dooley," The girl jerked her thumb at her friend, "and I'm Calla, Calla Parker."

** xxx **

"So, you guys work at the Bionic Academy?" Since Kaz and Ollie wanted to catch up with Calla and Leo (despite the fact that they'd only met a week ago), most of us had decided to skip the Magic tournament and head for the cafeteria. Jaime and Skylar had opted to stay and watch – since Caldera didn't have card tournaments like that, Skylar was curious and wanted to see one in action – so Alivia, Kaz, Calla, Leo, Ollie, and I had all grabbed a booth near the Pizza Pizza.

"Well, no. I work at the Bionic Academy. He's just a student." Calla corrected, taking a bite from her pepperoni pizza.

"For now." Leo added, looking at her pointedly. Calla rolled her eyes, a little smirk on her face. I glanced at her hair.

"What are the odds that we'd both cosplay as Black Canary?" I questioned, nibbling on my vegetarian pizza. Calla laughed lightly.

"She's a badass." She replied, brushing her hair out of her face. "Nice wig, by the way."

"Thanks. My friend Jordan knows a guy." I replied. "How'd you get your hair to go so blonde? If it's temporary, I assume you didn't bleach it?"

"My boss owns a high tech lab, and I have a friend in the R&D department that cosplays a bit, so I called her up and she helped me fix this stuff up." She replied. "It's not the most effective stuff, and it'll wash out almost the second it gets wet, but hey, I believe that if you're going to play a part, you should commit."

"I agree." I nodded. "Unfortunately for me, my hair's too short to use anything but a wig for this."

"So, where are the others? Chase, Bree, and Adam?" Ollie inquired. Calla and Leo exchanged looks, smirking.

"Well, Chase…" Calla laughed lightly. "He was fighting with another one of the Mr. Davenport's scientists, Dr. Ryan, so now he's forcing the two of them to work together on some project. Idiots."

"And since Big D gave us all the weekend off, except them, Bree and Jaden took the private jet to Paris." Leo continued. "And Adam is still trying to teach Bob how to burp the ABCs."

"Oh, how's he doing on that?" Kaz grinned.

"Well, Bob keeps forgetting what letter comes after Q, so not so well." Calla replied, shaking her head. "So, is this your first International Comic Com?"

"Yeah, you?" Alivia inquired, grabbing a chip from the ever-shrinking pile.

"My second, her third." Leo replied.

"So, you guys here for the whole weekend?" Kaz questioned.

"Yeah, pretty much…crap." Calla glanced at her phone. "Uh, Leo, we've got to go if we're going to make the Supernatural panel."

"Remind me why I'm letting you drag me to that thing?" Leo sighed as Calla got up.

"Because I let you drag me to that Furries thingy." She replied. She smiled at us. "Alivia, Dani, it was nice to meet you guys, and good to see you, Kaz and Oliver. We should try and catch up later."

"Definitely." "Totally." "Sure." We all agreed. Our new friends took off, heading down to one of the panel theatres. I looked at Kaz, Ollie, and Liv.

"So, should we go grab Jaime and Skylar, or do you guys want to see who's playing Tecton in the new Tecton movie? Because I'm curious."

** Mort's POV **

"Now, the boss told us no more screw ups. So, we need to find this Quimby Fletcher and fast." I told Richie as I paced across the cement in front of the van we'd borrowed from Mr. Terror's fleet. As usual, my partner didn't respond verbally. I didn't know if he even could – we'd been working together for about 5 months, and he'd never spoken a word in front of me. Still, he nodded, so I continued. "Now, that kid we grabbed last week wasn't Quimby Fletcher, but I still think he's connected to him. So, if we question his friends, we should find out something."

He frowned and cocked his head, so I gestured at the computer. "You remember how Mr. Terror put trackers in those gloves that he gave us for Christmas, so he could know where we are at all times? That girl who came to save the kid took them, and I managed to track her to this location." I nodded at the large convention center in front of us. "We go in, get the girl with the gloves, and we'll get our answers about Quimby Fletcher."

I looked through the van's open door at the laptop sitting on a crate on its floor. The laptop was streaming live footage of the kid we'd grabbed a couple of weeks, as he sat eating with a group of his friends. The problem was, there were three girls sitting with him, as well as two boys. "It can't be the redhead – I'm fairly certain that she's Geminus in civilian clothes, probably assigned to protect him after we grabbed 'im."

I looked closely at the other two. Neither girl looked particularly like the girl I'd seen last week – she'd had short, auburn hair, and both of these had identical, long, blonde hair. I was about to suggest trying to figure out which one was which, but then one of the blonde girls stood up, along with one of the boys, and left. "Richie, you get the one that's with the kid, I'll get the one who left. We'll just question them both."

** Dani's POV **

"We should go find Jaime and Skylar." Alivia suggested as we made our way through the crowd.

"Yeah, then we can go to the Tecton panel." Kaz agreed.

"Why don't I meet you guys there?" I suggested, letting go of his hand. "I need to use the bathroom."

"Okay." Ollie nodded. "Don't forget, it's being held in room-"

"D, I know." I assured him. "I'm not an idiot, Ollie."

"Yeah, yeah." He rolled his eyes. I did the same to mock him, then headed off in the direction of the bathrooms.

The bathroom was empty as I walked in, and when I finished my business, it was still quiet. It seemed a bit unusual, since the number of the people in the building had to be at least close to a thousand, if not over. It was only when I began washing my hands in the sink did the door open.

I glanced up as the footsteps approached, then took a second glance when I realized the person was a guy. The man was very tall, with dark skin. He looked vaguely familiar, I thought, but I probably just passed him today in the hall. "Uh, wrong bathroom, man."

He grunted and didn't leave, instead slowly approaching me. Okay, this was creepy. Like, I-need-to-get-out-of-here-now creepy. I backed away slowly, but that only seemed to annoy him. Then he raised his fists, both of them glowing, and I realized where I knew him from; he was one of the guys who kidnapped Kaz a couple of weeks ago. "Oh, crap." I muttered. Where was Alivia when you needed her? "I'm just gonna go…"

I tried to make a run for it, ducking as I bolted towards the door. Unfortunately, he was clearly expecting me to do this – and I admit, it was the most original plan – and swung his fist out, catching me in the rib cage. Thanks to his super strength, not only did that really hurt, but it sent me flying through the air. I hit something really hard, the wall I think, and slid to the floor, my head pulsing as my vision blurred and spun. I lay there for a second as he approached me. I tried to sit up, to run or fight I don't know, but the moment I tried to move, my vision dipped, and I lost track of things.

** Xxx **

"Ugh." I complained, sitting up and rubbing my head. It ached badly, but at least the room wasn't spinning anymore. Though, I realized I must have been out a while, because I was no longer in the washroom. I was sitting on the floor of a cage – who uses cages these days anyways? – in what appeared to be a dark basement.

"You okay?" I glanced up to see Calla standing above me, arms crossed as she slowly paced the cage.

"Yeah. You?" I questioned.

"I'll live." She brushed some hair out of her face, revealing a nasty looking bruise underneath.

"What happened?" I questioned, standing up slowly, one hand reaching for one of the bars.

"Don't." Calla tried to warn me, but I had touched the bar before she could.

"Ow!" I exclaimed, leaping back as I received a nasty shock, literally. "It's electrified?"

"Yep." She rubbed her own hand, where she must have grabbed it. She glanced at me. "So, Lizard-Guy grab you too?"

"Lizard-Guy?" I repeated.

"He had a freaking lizard tongue. I don't know what else to call him." She rolled her eyes. "And he spit this really weird goo. I couldn't move."

"No, his partner was the one to grab me. Think his name is Richie or something." At least, that's what the Mighty Max database had said. Both he and his partner, Mort, were re-offenders, and surprise, surprise, Richie's first arrest had been on charges on kidnapping. Not that much of a shocker, really.

"Were they supervillains?" Calla looked at me questioningly, stopping. I raised an eyebrow, surprised that she got to that conclusion so fast. "I know for a fact no bionic people have tongues like that."

"Technically, they're goons, but yeah, they have superpowers." I replied. She nodded thoughtfully, a frown on her face. "Sorry, but I think they're here for me, not you."

"It happens." Calla shrugged.

"Kidnapping?" I asked, not sure what she meant. To my surprise, she nodded.

"You won't believe the number of times I've been kidnapped." She told me, beginning to pace again. "I mean, between Chase's crazy fangirls, people who think they can get info on Davenport Industries from me, and the rest of the bionic megalomaniacs I've had to deal with, it's ridiculous."

"You've actually been kidnapped by you boyfriend's fangirls?" I almost laughed in disbelief. Calla smirked slightly.

"Not yet." She admitted. "But it's bound to happen. They're nuts. Leo and I got a bet going on how long it will take."

"I want in on that." I commented, smirking back. She laughed lightly.

"Sure." She agreed as a door at the other end of the room opened up. Mort walked in, followed by Richie. "Hey! Who the hell do you think you are, attacking us like that?"

"You don't need to know that, darlin'." Mort assured her. Calla crossed her arms, glaring at them dangerously. "I just need you to answer a couple of questions for us."

"Like what?" I demanded, tapping my foot. Calla didn't seem to be afraid of them, that was clear, but I was freaked. Mort and Richie were no joke – they almost beat Tecton and Alivia – and I knew what they wanted. They wanted Quimby Fletcher, or rather, Ollie. But I couldn't give him up, and Calla didn't know anything, so the chances of this ending well for us were very low. Especially since, depending on how long we'd been down here, the others might still be in the panel and maybe hadn't realized I was missing yet.

"First, names. Our boss is going to want to know who's friends with Quimby Fletcher." Mort told us.

"Quimby Fletcher?" Calla frowned. She glanced at me, and I shook my head quickly. She turned back to Mort. "We have no idea who that is."

"Names." He ordered. She paused.

"Alexandria Davenport." She lied. Mort turned to me, and I panicked. Calla was smart to give them a fake name, and my connection to Ollie made it even more important that they not know who I was, but I was terrible with coming up with fake names. So, I said the first name that popped into my head, blurting it out without thinking of the consequences.

"Calla Parker."

To her credit, the real Calla didn't react in the slightest. Mort nodded, then raised his chin.

"Alright, here's the deal, Miss Davenport and Miss Parker. I know one of you is friends with Mr. Fletcher, and all you have to do is tell me where to find him. Hell, tell me anything about him, and me and my associate will let you ladies go, alright?"

"I told you, we don't know what you're talking about." Calla insisted. "Now, you're going to let us go. I've got powerful friends, and they won't be happy when they find out I'm missing. And trust me, you don't want to get on their bad sides."

"We'll take the chance, sweetheart." Mort rolled his eyes. He looked at me. "What about you, angel? You got anything you want to tell us?"

"No." I gulped nervously.

"You have an hour to come to your senses." He told us.

"Or what?" I challenged.

"Or we'll bring you to our boss, Mr. Terror. And he's not someone you want to meet face to face." He threatened. He jerked his head at Richie, and the two walked out, the door clanging shut behind them. The moment it did, Calla turned to me.

"Calla Parker?" She repeated incredulously.

"Sorry. I panicked." I apologized.

"Clearly." She rolled her eyes. "Okay, who is Quimby Fletcher?"

"I don't know." I lied. She approached me, getting close.

"No. You dragged me into this, you don't lie to me." She told me, annoyed.

"I can't." I shook my head, looking at her desperately. For all we knew, there were cameras on us right now. "I'm sorry."

Calla hesitated. "We'll talk later then." She decided, her tone softening a bit. "Right now, let's focus on getting out of here."

"How?" I questioned, looking around. "If the electric cage wasn't enough, it's locked, and then we have to get past those two.

"And then we have to figure out how to get back to the convention, because this doesn't look much like a panel room." Calla added. "I only woke up a few minutes before you, and God knows how long we were out for."

"Twenty-seven minutes." I commented. She looked at me.

"What?" She questioned. I held out my watch.

"I think I broke it when I was attacked. It's stuck at 6:34." I nodded at the analog clock on the wall. "That says 7:01. Logically, we've been here for twenty-seven minutes."

"Oh." She looked surprised. "You wear a watch?"

"You can't always rely on high-tech stuff like cell phones." Good thing too. I could see my cell phone on a small table by the door.

"Okay," She nodded thoughtfully. "I figure you've been up for five minutes, then, and me for maybe seven, possibly eight, only leaving a twenty minute window between Richie attacking you and us ending up in this cage. It's unlikely they moved us far."

"You think we're below the convention center?" I guessed, following her logic. She nodded.

"It makes the most sense." She decided. She glanced at me. "You think you're superhero buddies are coming?"

"Not sure. The panel we were supposed to go see isn't done yet – they may not have realized anything's wrong yet." I replied.

"It's been almost a half an hour. They won't be worried?" She frowned.

"I kinda get distracted by comic book merchandise. They probably think I'm looking at some booth or something." I replied. "What about Leo?"

"Well, he sorta ditched me on our way to the Supernatural panel, so he's probably hiding from me, actually. Doubt he'll realized I'm gone until it ends…in half an hour." She replied. "We just need to figure our way out of this."

"How?" I questioned. She smirked. "Oh, come on, you're not that smart."

"For your information, I have an IQ of 158." She sounded like that was supposed to mean something, but I just looked at her. "Stephen Hawking has a 160."

"Dang, girl. I thought Chase Davenport was supposed to be the smartest person on the planet." I commented. She smirked.

"His score is at least 80 points higher, which he likes to brag about. A lot." She rolled her eyes. "But the point is, I'm that smart, especially when we need to be. All we need is a plan."

"Let's hear it." I replied. She paused, not saying anything. "You don't got one, do you?"

"I'm working on it." She insisted, glaring at me.

"Well, first thing we need to do is unlock the cage." I commented. "Oh wait, we can't. It'll kill us."

"Possibly." She agreed. "One shock hurts, but isn't that bad. But in order to unlock the door, we'd need our hands on it for at least a minute, if not longer, and that might electrocute us to death."

"We can't do anything with that in play. See, this is why you can't rely on tech to always help you out." I frowned, realizing that she was staring at me. "What?"

"Empty your pockets." She ordered, her lips twitching upwards in excitement. I laughed, staring at her.

"What? You gonna MacGyver this?" I questioned. She raised an eyebrow. "I may have had a thing for Lucas Till since X-Men First Class."

"Really? I prefer the original show rather than the reboot, but yeah. I'm gonna MacGyver this." She told me. "Pockets, empty. Now."

We both pulled out the contents of our pockets. They weren't much – on Calla's side, there was a disposable camera, and a pack of chewing gum, while I had a pen, some money, and a couple of hair pins that I'd brought in case the wig kept getting in my face. "Perfect." She smiled brightly. I stared at her.

"You can seriously get us out of here using all of this?" I questioned, suspicious. She shook her head.

"Of course not. Put the cash away – why would I need that?" She demanded before grabbing the pen from me.

"You're crazy." I muttered. She smiled, a real I-take-that-as-a-compliment smile.

"The best ones always are." She replied before using the pen to jimmy open her disposable camera.

** Kaz's POV **

"Kaz, she's probably just off at that ninja star booth." Skylar reasoned.

"She did have an unusual interest in those weapons." Jaime agreed.

I ignored them booth, looking over the crowd, hoping to see her. Dani was supposed to meet us at the panel ages ago, but she had never come back from the bathroom, and she wasn't picking up her phone. "I don't know, guys. She always answers her phone. Heck, I've seen her answer a telemarketer's call in the middle of class."

"Seriously?" Jaime looked surprised. Alivia nodded.

"And then she started messing with him by pretending that she was also a telemarketer. The teacher was too surprised to even be mad." She laughed lightly.

"Kaz is right, something wrong." Oliver agreed.

"How do you know?" Skylar frowned, not disagreeing with him.

"Intuition." He replied with a shrug.

"Don't you mean, in-twin-ition?" I joked. He glared at me, even though I thought it was a reasonable name. Oliver and Dani were usually in pretty good sync with each other. I hadn't been kidding all those times I joked about them having twin telepathy. Heck, the first time Oliver and I had met, we'd just been playing on the beach when he suddenly started worrying about where his sister was. At the same time, some idiot had accidently knocked off the pier and into the ocean. At the time, it had been freaky how he just knew she was in trouble, but after a while, I'd gotten used to stuff like that.

Suddenly, Oliver's cell phone rang. He picked it up on the first ring. "Dani?"

Although I couldn't hear the speaker, I knew by the way his face fell that it wasn't our Dani. "Hey, listen, now's not a good time…" He paused, frowning as he listened to the speaker. "No, we haven't seen her since you guys left…what do you mean she's missing?"

"What's going on?" Skylar asked, placing her hand on Oliver's arm to get his attention. He pulled the phone away from his face.

"Leo says Calla disappeared. He just found her phone near the bathrooms." He told us, solemnly. I frowned, starting to really wonder what happened to Dani. Both girls, wearing identical costumes, disappearing near the same place? No way was that a coincidence.

** Dani's POV **

"So, what are you doing?" I asked, frowning as Calla spit out a piece of gum she'd been chewing. She didn't answer, instead using the gum to stick a wire to a circuit board, both of which she'd pulled out of her now ruined disposable camera. "Calla."

"Mini EMP." She replied. "You made a good point about the electricity being a problem, so I figured, why not just shut it down?"

"EMPs shut down all tech in the area." I remembered Ollie going on about them once.

"Anything electrical, actually. Including this cage." Calla smiled, not looking up as she continued to fiddle with the wires. "That solves the electricity problem. Now we just have to figure out how to get out of the cage."

"Leave it to me." I told her, turning the hair pins over in my hands.

"You know how to pick a lock?" She questioned. I smirked.

"My mom has the tendency of grounding me whenever she thinks I'm out of control." I explained. "I've snuck out of my room more times than I can count, but I'm just a little too short to be able to climb back in through my window. I'll usually climb in through Ollie's, since he's got a tree right outside of his, but occasionally I've had to go through the front door."

"Okay, good. Because the EMP will only last a couple of minutes." She informed me. "Once it starts working again, you'll get the full force of the zap if you're still touching the lock or those pins."

"Two minutes? Easy." Well, not quite, but it was pretty much our only chance.

"On three." Calla told me. I grabbed the pins and got as close to the lock as I dared. "One, two…three!"

The moment she pressed the last wire into place, I took a deep breath and shoved the pins into the lock. I let out the breath when I wasn't immediately electrocuted. I began fiddling with the pins, trying to get the right one into the right hole. It wasn't as easy as it looked on TV, but it was doable.

"Fourteen seconds." Calla muttered in warning. Not that it was necessary.

"Ha!" I laughed in delight as the locked clicked. I pushed the door open with my foot, smirking as our escape became possible.

"Nice." Calla grinned as I leapt down from the cage and onto the cement floor. She stepped down after me. "Seriously, good work."

"Thanks. Nice job with the EMP." I added. She smirked in response, and headed for the door. But before she could open it, Richie walked inside. Calla backed up as he came storming in, the shorter girl staring up at him.

"…hi." She gulped nervously.

He didn't answer, instead swinging his already glowing fists. Calla hit the ground, dropping into a low crouch to avoid being hit. I reached for the nearest item that could be as a weapon, a coffee mug that had been sitting next to my phone, and threw it at him. It bounced off harmlessly.

"Any other bright ideas, genius?" I questioned, backing up as much as I dared as Calla slinked away from Richie.

"Well, usually I shoot him at this point, but Leo made me leave my Plasma Gun at home because I would get in trouble with the convention people." Calla replied. "So, um, yeah. No."

Richie advanced on us. "Good thing I've got one." I replied before ducking past him. He didn't care; so long as he had one of us, I think he was happy. I briefly wondered where Mort was, but honestly, if he wasn't here, I didn't care where he was. I clenched my fists, ready to tackled the bad guy, when a voice came from behind me.

"Hey, need some help?" I looked over my shoulder to see Leo and Jaime standing behind me.

"Hit him with everything you've got." I instructed. They obliged, both of them shooting the villain with all their might. Calla, realizing what my idea was, ducked low, hands over her head as the goon tripped over her, tumbling into the cage. Just like I'd hoped, the EMP had worn off, and when he touched it, his entire body began to spasm, electrical bolts racing through his system.

He fell to the ground, unconscious, as Calla got to her feet. "Dani, you're a genius."

"Shh. It's a secret." I told her. She laughed in response, dusting her off her costume.

"Guys, they're in here!" Leo called out the door before looking at Calla. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." She promised him.

"I am too, in case anyone cared." I added, not really offended.

"I do." Kaz pushed past Jaime and opened his arms. I hugged him tightly before kissing him hungrily, wishing he'd been there with me before. "You sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine." I told him before kissing him again. When I pulled away, I took his hand.

"How'd you guys find us?" Calla questioned as Leo handed her a red cell phone.

"Security cameras." Skylar replied as she and Ollie walked in. Alivia was right behind them, looking a little worn out. "Once we realized you were missing, Leo hacked into them."

"You saw us being kidnapped on the security cameras?" Well, that was really stupid of Mort and Richie to not delete the footage.

"Actually, they deleted the footage." Ollie explained. I stand corrected. "But only specific times were deleted, so we just figured out which footage was deleted when and followed the trail."

"Smart." Calla nodded thoughtfully.

"Mort got away." Alivia announced. "He escaped into the convention before I could stop him, and we'll never find him in that. There's millions of them."

"They wanted to know about Quimby Fletcher, didn't they?" Ollie guessed, sounding guilty. He looked at Kaz. "They've gone after both of you now because of my dream."

"What?" Calla questioned. Before any of us could reply, she stopped us. "Wait, do I really want to know?"

"Not really." Kaz replied.

"Okay. Then don't tell me." She looked at Leo. "I feel like going home. You? I can call K-Dog and Rio, have them Geoleap us."

"Sounds good." Leo agreed. He pulled out his phone. "But let me call them; I think your battery died."

"Okay." Calla agreed. Leo headed out of the room, presumably to make the call. Calla looked at me. "So, this happen to you guys everyday?"

"Lately? Seems like it." Kaz commented. Calla chuckled tiredly.

"Your lives are crazier than mine. And that's saying something." She sighed. "Look, this Quimby Fletcher stuff. It's dangerous, right?"

"We think so." Alivia nodded.

"If you guys get in over your head, call me. Leo, Adam, Bree, Chase, and I will be here in a heartbeat. Or if you're ever in trouble, alright?" She looked at us pointedly.

"I got you kidnapped, and you want to come back for more?" I looked at her, surprised. "You're nuts."

"No, I just figure we all got a better chance if our friends have our backs." She replied as Leo walked back in. Two teenagers, our age, followed him in. "Hey guys."

"Kidnapped again, Calla?" The boy teased. She rolled her eyes and held her hand out to me.

"Dani Short, it was a pleasure working with you." She commented, sounding business like. I smirked.

"I couldn't have said it better myself." I replied, laughing as I shook her hand. For some reason, as she, Leo, and their friends disappeared before us, I felt like this was the beginning of a very interesting friendship.


	13. Thanks for the Memory Drives

** Kaz's POV **

"So, you seriously got kidnapped?" Barry questioned, looking at my girlfriend in concern. The three of us, along with Oliver, Skylar, and Alivia were in the Domain, the time well past midnight. We'd only just gotten back from San Diego, and, while Jaime took Richie away to Mighty Max, we headed to the one place we knew no one would interrupt us.

"Yeah. I'm fine though." Dani assured him, crossing her legs and leaning back on the couch. "But we seriously need to figure out who those henchmen are working for. Richie's not much of a talker, so I doubt interrogating him will give us any leads…"

"I was thinking…maybe it's Slaughtermaster." Alivia suggested. "I mean, think about it. The Annihilator was the unofficial leader of the villain world until he was defeated, so someone had to have stepped up in his place. And Slaughtermaster is definitely heartless and ruthless enough to do so."

"Or maybe one of the airlines." Skylar added. We all looked at her, confused. "Okay, it's bad enough that I can't fly anymore, but 25 bucks to check luggage? That's beyond evil!"

"Why do you have to check luggage? You only have one outfit." I commented as I laid my arm across Dani's shoulders.

"Okay, the number of Skylar's outfits is not the focus here." Barry intervened before Skylar could retort. He looked at Dani. "You think those henchmen might go after you again? Well, the one who escaped, anyway?"

"No." She shook her head. "They don't know who I am – I was wearing a wig when they kidnapped me, and I used Calla's name. And she's surrounded by bionic superhumans all day long, so I doubt she's in any danger whatsoever. Even Mort's not stupid enough to go after her on the Bionic Island. Besides, it's not me they want." She looked at Oliver, biting her lip worriedly.

"I'm safe for now." He reminded her gently before looking at the rest of us. "But we have to figure out who those villains are before they figure out I'm Quimby Fletcher."

"Is there anything you remember from when you were kidnapped? Either of you?" Alivia looked at Dani and I. Dani frowned.

"Um. No. They were both powerful, creepy…I think Richie had a tattoo on his wrist…"

"An infinity symbol, right?" I asked. She nodded. "Mort has the same one. I saw it the first day we met."

"You know, I think Principal Howard had one too." Barry added. "I remember thinking 'Hey, Principal Howard has an infinity tattoo'."

"That's a fascinating story, Barry. Lots of twists in it." I commented sarcastically. Dani elbowed me in the ribs, rolling her eyes.

"What I mean is, maybe they're working together." Barry insisted.

"You could be right." Oliver agreed. "Principal Howard's down in Mighty Max. You guys sneak him out and interrogate him. Dani and I will meet up with you later."

"Why? Where are you going?" Skylar questioned.

"Tuxedo fitting. Mom's making me go to." Dani sighed, getting up.

"Ten bucks says she forces you into dress shopping right after." Ollie commented. Dani sighed, nodding in agreement. "Come on."

Dani sighed and followed him out, but not before shooting us all a look of desperation as she went. I looked at Skylar and Barry. "Alright, I guess you guys are going to have to fill in for them."

"What does that involve?" Skylar questioned.

"Well, it's simple." Alivia told them. "Barry, act like you've got a stick up your butt, and Skylar, do the exact opposite of what he says."

** Xxx **

"And they're back." Barry announced. I looked up from my comic book to see Alivia and Jaime walk back into the Domain, the latter carrying a heavy looking backpack. "Hey, Skylar, close the blinds, would you?"

Skylar pulled the blinds down over the store's windows, keeping anyone from seeing what we were doing. Barry locked the door behind the girls as Jaime placed her backpack on top of the store's counter, and unzipped it, revealing Principal Howard's head inside. Alivia pulled the head out, a disgusted look on her face, and placed it right-side right on the counter, facing it towards us.

"About time!" Principal Howard complained. "It reeked of corned beef in there!"

"What are you complaining for?" Alivia retorted as Jaime subtly sniffed the inside of her backpack. "They were keeping you in a birdcage."

"Principal Howard," Skylar cleared her throat, approaching the severed head. "Kaz and Dani were both captured by two villains looking for an intergalactic power source called the Arcturion. They had the same tattoo as you."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Do you see any tattoos on my body?" Principal Howard retorted. "Oh wait! Thanks to you, I don't have a body!"

"Okay, you want to play it that way? Fine." Jaime smirked. "If you don't talk, I'll put you in the cell of certain destruction, where you'll be turned into an action figure."

"Yeah." I reached into my backpack and pulled out a plastic, headless Barbie doll. "And then I'll attach your tiny head to this broken doll." I pulled the matching, hot pink car out of my backpack next. "Then I'll make you ride around in this pink toy convertible. And then make you drive to the make-believe mall."

"Okay, okay. I'll talk." Principal Howard said quickly, his eyes watching the toys warily.

"But before you do," Skylar looked at me, "why do you have all that? It's just weird."

"We're supposed to be interrogating him." I reminded her, nodding at Principal Howard's head. She sighed, but let the matter drop.

"Now, who do you work for?" Barry demanded. When Principal Howard was slow to respond, I placed the doll next to him.

"Okay! We all work for Mr. Terror." He admitted. Huh, I'd never heard the name before. I glanced at the others to see if they had.

"He's a myth." Alivia commented slowly.

"No, he's not." Principal Howard replied. "He's real."

"Who is he?" Skylar questioned.

"A ruthless criminal genius so secret, no one's ever seen his face." He explained.

"Maybe he's horribly disfigured." I suggested. Why else would he hide this face? "Now, where's the Arcturion."

"I can't remember." Principal Howard told us. "Before I could report back to Mr. Terror, I transferred all the information about the Arcturion onto a memory drive, and it's missing."

"I pulled that memory drive out at school, but I'm not sure what happened to it afterwards." Alivia told us.

"It's probably still there. Let's go get it." Barry suggested.

"You're outta luck." Principal Howard laughed. "The memory drive is designed to explode it if remains uninstalled for a specific period of time. You only have two hours and eleven minutes left to get it before it goes boom."

"Well, that's too bad for you." Jaime smiled at him sweetly. "Because if it goes boom, you go boom."

Principal Howard looked at her, frightened.

"Come on. The school should be closed for the Christmas holidays." Barry told us.

"Wait." Skylar stopped us. "I have one more question. Seriously, Kaz, why do you have all that stuff?"

"Khloe, Katie, and Kasey's birthdays are coming up; I needed to get them something." I replied. "Now, c'mon!"

** Dani's POV **

I sighed, leaning against the wall and crossing my arms as I watched Ollie examine his tuxedo. Mom was busy doing the same, a frown on her face as she looked over my brother's outfit, while Horace helped Alan fix his bowtie.

Suddenly, my phone vibrated, as did Ollie's. We both pulled out our phones at the same time, reading the message.

** From: Kaz **

** Hurry! **

Ollie and I exchanged looks. "I think we're good here." I said loudly. Ollie nodded.

"Yeah, the tuxedo is perfect." He agreed.

"If by perfect, you mean poorly designed and badly sewn." Mom retorted, shaking her head. She glanced at the tailor. "No offense. I'm sure you're doing the best you can with what you've got, which is no skills and a poorly run shop."

"I agree." Alan commented as he chewed on a strip of red. "And his licorice is stale."

"That's a tape measure." I pointed out, pocketing my cell phone.

"Let's get Horace's opinion on the tux." Ollie suggested, climbing off the stool he'd been standing on, and approaching our boss. "Maybe I should talk to him privately, man to man, because this is  _mighty_  important."

Unsurprisingly, Horace completely missed the hint. "Oliver, we're going to be a family soon. Anything you have to say, you can say in front of all of us. I'll show you: sometimes I like to drink milk out of a baby bottle."

We all looked at him in disgust, even Mom. "Look, I really think Dani and I can go." Ollie insisted. "She has no actual reason to be here, and this tuxedo is the one."

"Yes." Mom agreed. Finally! "If I decide that you're going to wear tuxedos."

"What else would they be wearing?" I questioned incredulously, staring at her. To my surprise, she gave me a knowing look.

"We are also considering a theme wedding." She looked plain disgusted at the very idea. Ollie and I just stared at her.

"Seriously?" "What theme?" We both demanded.

"We haven't decided. We have 50 outfits to try on." She didn't sound to excited, even as she waved her hand at the tailor. He pulled in a rack of different costumes, with numerous themes.

"You have got to be kidding me." I muttered, looking at Ollie.

"Excuse me." Horace approached the tailer. "Do you have a dinosaur costume in a men's regular?"

** Kaz's POV **

"What the…?" We burst into the school, intending on looking for the memory drive, but to our surprise, the entire lobby was filled with students. There were at least 60 of them, all surrounding different booths. "It's winter break. Why is the school full?"

"Wait, there's Jordan." Barry pushed through the crowds until we reached the girl's booth. She stood in behind a table, looking up at a giant painting of a happy face. "Hey, Jordan. What's everyone doing here during vacation?"

"The school art fair. I told you about it last week." She replied. "Check out my latest painting."

She turned and gestured at the giant smiley face. "I call it 'Agony'." She announced proudly.

"I don't get it." Jaime frowned. Jordan didn't look phased.

"That's because it's not done yet." She assured us. She bent underneath the table and pulled out an axe. Without a warning, she spun around and imbedded it in the center of the painting. "Now it's done."

"I like it." Barry nodded, smirking. Jordan smiled happily, brushing her hair away from her ear to reveal a black and gold earring that looked very much like a memory drive.

"That's the memory drive! Why is she wearing it as an earring?" Alivia hissed, pulling us away.

"She must have picked it up in the hallway after the fight." Skylar realized. "We've got to get it away from her somehow."

"I've got this." Barry assured us before walking over to Jordan. "Hey Jordan, I like your earring. It makes you look sweet and feminine."

"It does?" She stared at him before pulling it out. "Ugh! Take it!"

"Okay." Barry took the earring from her and walked back over to us, turning it over in his fingers. "Who da man?!" He grinned.

"Uh, hate to break to you, 'man', but she's wearing the same earring." Jaime interrupted, nodding at Clarrissa, a blonde girl from my gym class, as she walked by us. Sure enough, she was sporting the same exact earring.

"Jordan, why is she wearing the same earring?" I questioned.

"Oh, Gus thought it was cool, so he made replicas of it and is selling them." She leaned against the table. "Why he needs more money, I have no idea."

Looking around, I noticed Gus standing near another booth, tossing crumpled up dollars into the garbage can like basketballs. "Hey, Jordan." I ran up to him. "I wanted to ask you something. That earring that Jordan was wearing, is it the original?"

"I don't know." He admitted. "I gave the original to my manufacturer, and when he gave them back, they were all mixed up like salad, and my grandma, who thinks she's salad."

"How many did you make?" Skylar demanded.

"Only, like, four or five…" We all let out a sigh of relief, "…hundred."

We all exchanged looks. Everyone in the room was wearing earrings like that. "We need those earrings." Jaime commented.

"This is going to take a while." I commented, sighing.

** Dani's POV **

"Danica, get out of the changeroom." Mom ordered. I groaned, then hiked up the front of the heavy gown she'd forced me to try on, then stepped out of the change room, focusing on not trip or twisting my ankle. I hated dresses, particularly of the pink variety, but even more than that, I hated heels. Walking in them were impossible!

I stepped out into the middle of the shop, then looked at my mom. "I am not wearing this."

"This is insane." Ollie agreed, walking out in a court jester costume. Well, at least it was better than the princess costume. "Mom, why would you even want a theme wedding? That doesn't sound like you at all."

"Actually, it was my idea." Horace offered. Ollie and I exchanged looks, not at all surprised. "I love playing dress-up, almost as much I love milk."

I heard my phone go off, but as it was currently sitting on top of my bag, near the door, I couldn't go check it. Luckily, Ollie appeared to have gotten the same message, and he gave me a worried look.

"We have to go." Ollie told our mother. "So you guys continue on without us, and I'm sure whatever outfits you pick out-"

"Who locked the door?" I demanded when the doorknob wouldn't budge, inadvertently interrupting my brother.

"I did." Alan told us, walking up to us. "Look, you two are clearly upset about our family dynamic, so I think we should have a family feelings session, because there's nothing more important that family. Right, Mom?"

I made a face as Alan kissed up to my mother. "Oh, that's so sweet that you called me Mom." She looked at Alan sternly. "Don't do it again."

"Alan!" I grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away from the adults. "You can't lock us in."

"We have to deal with a superhero emergency." Ollie added, keeping his voice low. "We have to go."

"You're not going anywhere." Alan retorted. "I'm sick of being unappreciated, so I will not rest until the favorite in the family is me!"

"Then let me go. I'm not even in the running!" I insisted.

"Alan, I think a family meeting is a wonderful idea!" Horace exclaimed. "Because Bridget told me to say so."

Mom didn't look to pleased that Horace ratted her out like that. She approached Ollie and I. "Why can't you be more like Alan?" She questioned. "Mature, enlightened, bright."

"What are you talking about?" I demanded, staring at her incredulously.

"He's about to eat a pin cushion!" Ollie exclaimed. Alan paused, his mouth hovering over the red pin cushion.

"I thought it was a very dry and prickly tomato." He explained, putting it down.

"Well, Oliver, at least he eats what he thinks are vegetables." She defended him.

** Kaz's POV **

"How are we going to get all these earrings before the memory drive explodes?" Jaime wondered, looking around.

"I wish Oliver was here." I muttered. "Thinking make my head hurt. Or Dani, she makes it more fun at least."

"I'll just think the way Oliver does." Skylar offered. She thought for a moment. "I've got it. Remember the issue of the Crusher where he does the thing with the thing, and gets the thing out of the thing?"

"You're just speaking gibberish." Alivia told her. I nodded in agreement.

"Isn't that what Oliver does?" Skylar questioned. "I really don't listen."

I sighed. Fine, I'd figure it out. I thought hard, hard enough to make my head hurt. "I have an idea." I winced. "But first, we need the enlarging ray from Mighty Med."

** Xxx **

"This is a terrible idea." Skylar muttered as I led her into the lobby. "And why do I have to be the one to do this?"

"Because you were the last one to say 'not it'." Barry reasoned, smirking. "Now, don't be a baby."

"Call me a baby again, and you won't live to regret it." She warned.

"Just go." Alivia told them. Skylar followed me into the middle of the lobby.

"Connie!" I exclaimed loudly, getting everyone's attention. "Why is your ear so huge?"

She turned around to reveal her ear, now three times its regular size. "Gus, I put on your cheap earring, and it must be defective. It make my ear swell up!" Skylar looked at him accusingly.

"Yeah, and it's not the only side effect." Barry smirked. "It also makes her run repeatedly into walls."

Skylar glared at him, but his smirk on grew as she was forced to turn around and walk straight into the wall several times.

"There must be a mistake." Gus told the group of people that were now looking at him suspiciously. "Give me a minute to think."

Instead of taking that minute to think things over, Gus took a deep breath then bolted out the door, running as fast as he could.

"You all better get rid of those earrings." Jaime announced, grabbing an empty box off a table and holding it out for people to place their earrings in. "They're defective and have terrible side effects."

"Yeah, and you better get rid of all your money too." Jordan added, holding out her hat to people. "You touched your earring, then your money. Who knows what got all over it?"

Unsurprisingly, no one bought that. However, everyone did give Jaime their earrings, until the box she was holding was overflowing with them.

"Okay, that's all over. Now, can you please shrink my ear back down?" Skylar requested as the crowd dissipated.

"Oh, yeah. Sure." I agreed, pulling the enlarging ray out of my back pocket. "Just let me reverse the settings."

I pulled a couple of the switches on the device, then pointed it at Skylar's ear, and pulled the trigger. After a second of watching the beam of energy surround her ear, I released it, and the beam disappeared. I frowned, noticing how small her ear was. It wasn't abnormal, but it did look a little too small. "Oh, no. I made it way too small."

"No." Skylar felt her ear with her hand. "This is the normal size of my ears."

"Really?" I wrinkled my nose. "Ew."

"Hey!" Skylar looked at me, offended.

"Okay, now we need to figure out which one of these memory drives is Principal Robot Head's." Barry declared. We started for the door, but froze as Mort himself walked in.

"Uh oh." I muttered. I glanced over my shoulder to see another henchmen, just as large and threatening as Richie was, walk in the back door. "Guys, we're in trouble."

"No shit, Sherlock." Jaime muttered. "But at least they can't attack with all these witnesses around."

"Attention!" Mort called to everyone in the room. "My associate and I run a television company, and we're holding auditions in the civic center right now for our new reality show…Who Wants to be Famous for No Reason Whatsoever."

Everyone in the school fled from the building, heading for the civic center. "The sad thing is, I would watch that." Skylar commented as the two henchmen approached us.

"You again." Mort snarled, recognizing me. He grabbed me by the front of my shirt and pushed me up against one of the tables.

"Watch it." Alivia warned as her girlfriend clenched her fists, sparks flying from them.

"Your Principal Howard never reported to the big boss." Mort ignored her. "Now we know why. You got his memory drive."

"Look, you're not getting the memory drive." I told him. He looked at me and hissed, his forked tongue sticking out and his eyes turning yellow, so I did the only sane thing; I ran. I raced to the other side of the room, Alivia at my side, while Skylar, Barry, and Jaime dealt with the big guy. Alivia, and I ducked behind Jordan's booth, using the art material there to launch at Mort. However, the unusually short man ducked and avoided most of the items being thrown at him.

Barry and the other girls seemed to be in a similar position. Barry was throwing art at the giant man, while Jaime shot balls of electricity (however, you could tell that she was being careful with her aim – the room wasn't very big, and she clearly didn't want any of her shots to go wild and hurt one of us by mistake), and Skylar used her flexibility and experience in hand-to-hand combat to land a few good punches. Unfortunately for them, their henchmen had a sword.

"Wait, why the heck aren't we using the axe?" Alivia demanded, reaching for it. She pulled as hard as she could, but only succeeded in dislodging the wooden handle, leaving the blade stuck in the painting.

"That's why." I took the piece of wood from her and threw it at Mort. He ducked and it flew past him, right past Skylar's face.

"Kaz!" She exclaimed, annoyed.

"Sorry!" I apologized. I winced as the henchmen she was fighting took advantage of the distraction and grabbed by the back of her shirt. He threw her into the air and she landed hard, hitting Jaime and taking the blonde down with her.

"Kaz!" This time is was Alivia shouting my name, as she grabbed me by the back of my shirt and pulled me backwards, just in time to avoid one of Mort's disgusting goo balls. We both ducked under the table, and suddenly, I had an idea. I grinned, grabbing the enlarging ray and I used it on my hand, until it was three times its normal size.

I did so with perfect timing, too, as Mort chose that moment to flip the table we were hiding under. I stood up and, before he could react, punched him in the gut with all my might. He soared through the air, and hit the big henchmen, knocking him down and out.

"Impressive." Jaime smiled at me.

"Kaz, that was fantastic." Skylar smiled, agreeing with her. I raised my fist, the large one, for a fist bump, but when we hit our fists together, I must have used too much strength because I heard a crack and she pulled her hand away, shaking it as she winced in pain.

"Oops." I laughed apologetically.

** Dani's POV **

I crossed my arms, annoyed with this entire situation. "Now, remember, this is an open forum." Alan said calmly from where he was sitting across from me. "The most important thing is for us to be honest. Right, Dad?"

"Right son." Horace agreed. Ollie and I exchanged looks.

"I want to leave. Is that honest enough?" I asked, glaring at Alan.

"Perfect. Get all that out there." Horace assured me. I rolled my eyes. "And since we're being honest, Bridget, sometimes when I'm kissing you, I'm thinking of a bridge."

"And sometimes, when I'm kissing you, I'm thinking about money." Mom admitted.

They leaned in to kiss each other, just as me and Ollie's phones went off. Glancing at the text message, I frowned.

** From: Kaz **

** Get to the Domain! Now! *Alarmed face emoji* **

"Look, as fun as this is, we really have to go." Ollie told them. I practically leapt from my seat and tried the door, but it was still locked.

"Mom! Make Alan unlock the door right now!" I exclaimed, annoyed.

"Dani, don't talk to your mother like that." Horace scolded. I stood my ground. My and Ollie's friends were in trouble, and they needed us, and we were being detained so that Alan could have his freaking ego stoked.

"We need to go." Ollie insisted.

"Danica…" I glared at Alan. "Dani, I mean, and Oliver, your jealousy of me is tearing this family apart. I think the only way for us to move forward is for you to give me a hug and a kiss and say 'Alan, even though you're great in every way, and we are, at best, below average, we love you'."

"No way." I muttered, looking back at Horace and my mother. However, they both looked like they liked the idea. "C'mon."

"Alan, even though you are great in every way," It was like the words physically hurt my brother.

"And we are, at best, below average, we love you." I finished, feeling sick to my stomach. Alan smirked, then turned his face and tapped his cheek. Ollie gave me a look, but I shook my head, so he leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the side of his cheek.

"Looks like we're all just one big happy family." Horace smiled.

"Can we go?" Ollie questioned. Mom sighed.

"You can, Danica stay." She instructed.

"What? Why?" I demanded. Mom gave me a stern look.

"You still need a dress for the wedding, and I wanted to speak with you." She replied.

"Can't we do this tomorrow?" I questioned.

"No, tonight." She insisted. Ollie stood awkwardly by the door.

"Dee…" He looked at me hopefully, and I sighed.

"Look, Mom, I've got important stuff to do that can't wait. So, punish me however you would like, but I'm still going to go." I told her, almost apologetic, before following my brother out the door.

** Kaz's POV **

"One of these memory drives is yours." I told Principal Howard as Skylar, Jaime, Alivia, Barry, and I dumped the memory drives onto the counter.

"We have to plug each of them into your head to figure out which is the real one." Skylar added.

"Wait." Jaime stopped us, her eyes focused on the door. "Someone's coming."

Sure enough, there were two shadows, the people hidden by the blinds, coming towards the door. We all stepped in front of the severed head, but thankfully it was only Oliver and Dani. "'Bout time." Jaime commented as they walked in.

"Sorry." Dani apologized. "I was a princess and Ollie had to kiss Alan."

I frowned, looking at them. "Okay, normally I'd have follow-up questions, but we're about to explode in two minutes, so I'll save them for later."

"Good idea." Oliver agreed. We started plugging memory drives into Principal Howard's head, one by one. None of them were even remotely useful – we got photos and videos of everything from cat videos, to old men in bathing suits.

"Fifteen seconds left." Principal Howard warned.

"We only have time for one more drive." I commented.

"Liv, you pick!" Dani exclaimed. The red-head looked at her.

"Why me?" She demanded.

"Luck of the Irish!" Dani reasoned.

"You know, that's not a real thing." Alivia pointed out, even as she grabbed a random memory drive and stuck it into Principal Howard's head as he began to count down.

"Four…three…two…" He stopped at two, and when nothing happened, we all let out a sigh of relief.

"I stand corrected. Yay luck of the Irish." Alivia laughed lightly.

"We're all fine." Barry smiled.

"Yeah, I've never been better." Principal Howard commented sarcastically. "I'm a disembodied head imprisoned in a comic book store run by a bunch of idiots."

"Hey!" Barry frowned. "Gus and I run the store together, and he's the only idiot."

Principal Howard didn't respond, instead projecting a screen in front of us. An image of a space ship, very similar to the stereotypical UFO but with what looked like pretty high-tech controls, was the central image. There was a lot of words next to it, none of it in English, and a small picture of a triangular prism above it. Inside the prism, there was a hot pink ball.

"That's the space ship from my dream." Oliver announced.

"This is Baaaaaaaaaahanian." Skylar announced, stressing the first few A sounds.

"It's what?" Even Alivia looked confused.

"An ancient language. Not many use it anymore, but we learn the basics on Caldera when we're young." Skylar explained.

"Can you read it?" Jaime questioned. Skylar frowned.

"It says the spaceship is buried underneath…the school." She glanced at us. "It doesn't say which one, but I'd be willing to guess that it's Logan High."

"It would explain why Principal Howard was there." Barry mentioned.

"It also says that the Arcturion is inside it." Skylar added. I gasped and looked at Oliver.

"Maybe when you fell into the construction site, you touched something that had been in contact with the Arcturion, and that's why you had the dream." I suggested.

"That's why there's been so much villain activity at the school." Alivia realized. "I bet the villains are drawn to the Arcturion's power without even knowing why, like moths to the light."

"Actually, moths are drawn to the light because of the innate behavior called transverse…" Oliver trailed off, noticing our expressions. "You don't care."

"Sorry bro." Dani patted him on the shoulder.

"Uh, I just translated the rest." Skylar looked at us, Oliver in particular, worriedly.

"What's it say?" Alivia questioned. Skylar took a deep breath, then read it out loud.

"'To all operatives. Find Quimby Fletcher…remove his skin and roast him over an open flame.'" Oliver gulped nervously. "'Signed, Mr. Terror.'"

"Oh, my god." Jaime looked at Oliver. "They're going to slow cook you until your meat falls off your bones."

"I think he gets the point, honey." Alivia told her, giving Oliver a sympathetic look.

** Bridget's POV **

"…doubt Alivia's going to let you out of her sight until this is all cleared up." I looked up from my laptop as the front door opened.

"Danica, my office." I called, recognizing my daughter's voice. The conversation stopped completely, and Danica stepped into my office, Oliver standing closely behind as if he were ready to step in. "Just Danica. Oliver, you can go."

"Uh…" He looked at his sister. "I'll be upstairs."

She smiled at him gratefully, and watched him go. I sighed. "Danica…"

"I'm sorry." She cut me off, rushing to get her two-cents in before I could begin. While this wasn't uncommon – she rarely let me finish a sentence when she felt argumentative – I was surprised to hear her apologize. Perhaps Oliver had spoken to her. "I was rude before I left, I realize that, and I shouldn't have spoken the way I did."

"Are you trying to avoid punishment, or do you really mean your apology?" I questioned, skeptically. She didn't answer, confirming my thoughts. "Take a seat."

"I'm good standing." She insisted, staying close to the door. I bit back a sigh, then looked at her.

"Danica, I realize that you're unhappy with my marrying Horace," I began.

"Horace isn't the issue." She muttered under her breath, likely believing I wouldn't hear it.

"You and I have never seen eye to eye." I acknowledged. If she wanted me to state this bluntly, I would. It was the only way we were going to be able to have this conversation. "Things between us have always been complicated, and I would like to change that."

For a moment, she seemed caught off guard. I almost smiled; my daughter was far more clever than she acted, and it was genuinely hard for me to surprise her like this, so when I could, it was a genuine pleasure.

"Why?" She asked after a moment, her tone laced with suspicion.

"After the wedding, things are going to change," Very quickly, I suspected, "And I know I sprung this wedding on both Oliver and you."

"Then why aren't you speaking to him too?" She questioned.

"Because I don't have to worry about losing him." Not nearly as much, anyway. While my daughter may be a loose cannon at times, Oliver was loyal and family was too important for him to give up. Danica looked like she wanted to argue, but I stopped her. "You're seventeen, now, Danica. You graduate in little over a year, and I suspect that the moment you do, you're going to leave and you're not likely to come back."

She didn't answer, instead looking down to avoid my gaze. A mask of guilt was plastered over her face, confirming my theory. "I never intended to have a bad relationship with you."

"Well, I was never good enough for you, right?" She accused, glaring at me. "Not like Ollie."

"Oliver was always the more responsible one. I could afford to give him more freedom." I reasoned. She crossed her arms. "But that does not mean that I love you less, or that I want you to leave."

She sighed. "What is the point of this conversation, Mom?"

"I wanted to make a deal with you." I offered. She glanced at me, slightly intrigued. "I want a fresh start between the both of us. And I need you to trust that I have you and your brother's best interests in mind when I make my decisions."

"Like the wedding." She commented.

"Like the wedding, and everything that comes after." I promised.

"What do I get out of this?" She questioned. "You not grounding me for my behavior earlier?"

"I'm currently working on a project that will change the way my company is run. If things go well, then I'll have the summer free to take you and Oliver to say…Paris?" Her head snapped in my direction, her eyes wide and startled.

"Paris?" She repeated.

"And perhaps Rome, for Oliver." I reasoned. "I know he wants to see the coliseum."

"So you'll take us to Europe?" She stared at me.

"All you have to do is be open minded about my decisions. Seems fair?" I offered. She nodded, a suspicious frown on her face.

"Fair." She agreed. I was about to say something else, but my phone rang. Glancing at the phone, I realized it was one of my employees.

"I have to take this." I told her. She nodded.

"Okay. I'll go…start dinner." She offered, still looking suspicious. I made sure she was gone, then answered my phone. "I told you what would happen if you failed me again."

" _Mr. Terror."_ Mort's voice trembled as he used my codename.  _"Please, just give us one more chance."_

"Talk is cheap, and so lackeys." I warned. "Do not contact me again until you have located Quimby Fletcher. Find out what he knows, and then destroy him."

"Yes, Mr. Terror, sir." Mort replied before hanging up. I sighed, getting up from my desk. The wedding was only a couple of weeks away, and I needed to find Quimby Fletcher. I needed that Arcturion.

I glanced out my office door to see Oliver and Danica in the kitchen, my son pulling out his homework as his sister pulled some cans out of the cupboard. My girl was talking animatedly, glancing over her shoulder every couple of seconds to ensure that she had Oliver's attention. Oh, they were both blissfully unaware of the danger in this world, and, if everything went according to plan, they would stay that way forever.


	14. The Dirt on Kaz and Skylar

** Oliver's POV **

"Okay, So we know that the spaceship is buried underneath the school courtyard." Kaz paced in front of us, waving a pen around in his hand. We were back in Mighty Med. Usually, we'd all meet up in the Domain – it was quiet and since Gus rarely went there, Barry could close it whenever we needed him to – but ever since we found out that I was Mr. Terror's target, I'd taken to hiding out at the hospital, where I would be surrounded by my fellow superheroes. "Two, Mr. Terror's put a hit out on Quimby Fletcher AKA Oliver, and three, I love making speeches with a pen in my hand!"

"I don't love it." Skylar pointed out, wiping blue ink splotches off her face. "Your pen is leaking."

"I can't find Horace." Dani announced, walking back into the main part of the ER. "Alan said he's busy preparing for the wedding."

"What about the League of Heroes?" Skylar suggested. "Alivia, weren't you going to contact the League?"

"Liv?" I turned to the girl when she didn't answer, but found her leaning on the counter, her face buried in her crossed arms. "Alivia!"

"Yeah?" She sat straight up, blinking hard. We all looked at her as she regained her bearings. "Sorry."

"You look exhausted. You getting sick?" I asked, concerned. She shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose with one hand.

"Mort and that other henchmen saw all five of us, Barry, and Jaime. Now, Jaime's safe because she's back in DC, and Skylar, I'm pretty sure you can handle yourself in a fight," Skylar smirked, "but that means that I have to have duplicates watching you guys at all times in case Mort decides to go after any of you, especially you Oliver, and then I have to still be able to track down leads of my own…"

"You're spreading yourself too thin." I told her. She sighed.

"What else am I supposed to do?" She asked me in exasperation. "I told Dad what was going on, but word got out that Arcturion storyline was based on your dream, so no one in the League of Heroes will believe us."

"Get some help. Jaime…See if you can get Spotlight on board." Dani reasoned.

"He is on board, but he went home to visit his family for the holidays and he got snowed in. I have no idea when he's getting back. As for Jaime…it's complicated." Which I knew was code for, they got into a fight and Alivia didn't want to talk about it. "So for now, I'm all you've got, and I can't be everywhere at once."

"That's literally your only power." Kaz pointed out. She glared at him, exhaustion making her cranky. "I mean, we really appreciate you protecting like this."

"The more I duplicate myself, the more I exhaust myself." She explained. "So, four of you means four duplicates means four times the exhaustion."

"Liv," I waited for her to look at me, "go home. Get some rest."

"Can't." She protested.

"Alivia, take a break." Skylar agreed. "I can take over as bodyguard for a bit."

"For all three?" She questioned.

"Ollie and I are working all day. We'll be here, surrounded by superheroes." Dani assured her. Alivia looked between us, debating.

"You're sure?" She said eventually.

"Go." Kaz insisted, grabbing her by the shoulders and physically leading her towards the doors.

"So, I guess it's up to the three of us to find the Arcturion before Mr. Terror does." I decided.

"No." Dani looked at me like I was an idiot. "Did you not just hear me? We're staying here."

"It's too dangerous for you to come." Skylar agreed. "The moment you step outside, wham!"

I flinched. "Please don't make the sound of me getting destroyed." I begged her. She shook her head.

"I didn't; that was the sound of the door closing behind you." I let out a sigh of relief. "This is the sound of you getting destroyed: bang, bang!"

"Then you go with them." I told my sister. She shook her head.

"Nah, I'm good here." She assured me. I leaned in close to her.

"If we leave them alone, they're just going to argue the whole time and get nothing done. Also, I'm afraid they're going to make fun of me behind my back."

"We don't argue." Skylar retorted as Kaz walked back over.

"And we can't help but make fun of you behind your back. Have you seen your back?" He asked me. "It's really bony."

"You do need to eat more." Dani agreed, leaning her hand on the palm of her hand. I looked at her. "Ollie, this the safest place."

"I doubt he's even safe here." Kaz mentioned. "Anyone could be working for Mr. Terror, including that guy charging at him right now with a giant sword."

I rolled my eyes, unamused. "Very funny, Kaz."

"Ollie." Dani pointed past me. I turned around and to my shock, a nurse came running at me, a sword held high above his head. But when I stepped out of his way, he didn't stop, instead continuing on until he reached Surge's hospital bed. When he went to cut Surge's medical bracelet with the sword, I intervened.

"Jerome!" I snapped, a little annoyed at having been caught off guard like that. "Is it really necessary to use a sword to cut off a medical bracelet?"

To prove my point, I grabbed a pair of scissors and attempted to cut off the bracelet. However, that stupid plastic would not cut. After a couple of moments of trying, I gave up. "Apparently it is necessary. I apologize, Jerome. Proceed."

He used the sword to cut off the medical bracelet, then looked at me pointedly. "I'm sorry." I apologized again before walking back to my friends. "Well, we're going to go." Skylar announced.

"Have fun." Kaz kissed Dani on the cheek before followed Skylar out the door. Dani turned and looked at me, her head still supported by her hand.

"So, what do you wanna do?" She asked me, grinning as if this was just another day and there wasn't anybody trying to have me killed.

"Tecton." I realized, grinning. She frowned, not understanding where I was going with this. "Alivia said she needed help, right? Tecton's available to help. Maybe he's here."

"Maybe not. I'm pretty sure he and his ex are dealing with the custody agreement today or something." She shrugged.

"I'm going to go look anyway." She could be wrong, after all. I went wandering down the hall, trying to locate Tecton or any other, non-injured hero, but the hospital was practically scarce.

"Let's go ask him." Dani nodded at a janitor before walking up to him. "Excuse me. Have you seen-AH!"

She shouted in surprise, though she did, surprisingly, hold her ground when the janitor turned around to reveal the cybernetic implants on his face.

"Megahertz, what are you doing here?" I demanded, looking around for a guard.

"Apparently cleaning your footsteps off my freshly mopped floor." He hit out feet with the mop, forcing both my sister and I to back up. "Why is nobody using the shoe booties like we discussed? Seriously, people, c'mon!"

"I meant why are you a janitor?" I clarified.

"I have work duties as part of my prison sentence." He explained. "It's not fair. Why does Murder Face get to work in the kitchen? They know I'm part microwave!"

"Well, um, have you seen Tecton?" Dani questioned.

"No. Ever since I tried to rip his still-beating heart from his chest, we sort of drifted apart. Why?" Megahertz questioned, frowning. When my sister didn't answer, I did.

"There's a villain after me named Mr. Terror, and he's trying to destroy me." I explained. "We need to get to him before he gets to me."

"Why don't you ask another hero to help?" He questioned.

"No one else is around." Dani explained. "Except for injured heroes, and we can't ask them to help."

"You know, I can help you find and destroy this Mr. Terror." Megahertz offered. "But only if you ca get my jail time reduced to 25 to life. It's currently 25 to afterlife."

Dani and I looked at each other. "It wouldn't impossible to get the sentence reduced…" Dani said thoughtfully.

"How do I know you won't double-cross us?" I questioned skeptically.

"I couldn't if I wanted to." Megahertz retorted. "They make me wear a monitoring device on my ankle. It controls my brain and prevents me from doing anything evil. So, do we have a deal?"

I hesitated. This was, in every way, a bad idea. Megahertz couldn't be trusted, but…but it wasn't like there was any other way. "I guess I don't have any other choice, so it's a deal. But we have to act quickly."

"Let's go." Megahertz agreed.

** Kaz's POV **

"Okay, so here's the plan." I announced, looking down at the giant hole in front of our school. I held the shovel I'd grabbed from my garage out for Skylar to grab. "You climb in the ditch, and dig for the Arcturion."

"And what are you going to do?" Skylar frowned.

"Nothing." I replied, confused why she thought I'd be helping. "I thought of the plan. Do I have to do everything?"

"Kaz…" She warned, glaring at me.

"Okay, fine. I'll stay up here as the lookout while you dig." I amended my plan. She smirked.

"Better idea: you dig for the Arcturion, and I'll be the lookout, so if a villain shows up, I can fight him." She decided. I sighed.

"Fine." I agreed, ripping the caution tape and climbing down into the hole. She handed me back the shovel. "I'll dig. If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself."

I dug the shovel into the dirt, then purposefully made a weak attempt at removing it. "This is hard." I complained loudly. "Dirt is heavy. I'm thirsty."

"For goodness sake, that's not how you dig." Skylar told me, annoyed.

"Oh, like you could do better." I challenged.

"I can do better." She retorted. "Let me show you."

"Fine." I stepped aside and handed her the shovel. I climbed out of the ditch as she began to dig. "If you insist."

The moment her back was turned, I smirked, knowing she couldn't see it. The smiled faded slightly when I saw Gus walked up to us. "Gus, what are you doing at school? It's a Saturday."

"I left my locker here." He explained. I glanced at Skylar, who was equally confused by his statement.

"You mean, you left something in your locker?" She asked.

"No, I left my locker." Gus gestured over my shoulder. I turned to see his locker sitting on a cart. "I bring my entire locker home with me every night so I don't forget anything that's in my locker."

"But you forgot your entire locker." Skylar pointed out.

"I didn't say it was a perfect system." He admitted. He frowned, looking at us. "What are you guys digging for?"

"We're not digging for anything." I lied quickly. I glanced at the hole. "We're, um…filling this hole. People keep falling in it." To prove my point, I reached out, grabbed Gus by the arm, and pulled him into the hole. "See?"

"Wow, you're right." Gus agreed. "That hole came out of nowhere." I helped him out of it. "I'd offer to help you guys fill it, but that seems hard."

He started to walk away, but Skylar called him back. "You forgot your locker again." She pointed out. He sighed.

"I really need to rethink this system." He muttered before heading back to his locker.

** Oliver's POV **

"This isn't going to work." Dani smirked, her hand covering her mouth as she tried not to laugh.

"You don't have to find this so funny." I grumbled.

"But, yes, Ollie, I do." She giggled. Megahertz glared at me.

"For the record, I agree with the girl." He commented, frowning as he adjusted the blonde and red-streaked wig upon his head. He was dressed in a Solar Flare costume and, at Dani's suggestion, was sitting in a wheelchair.

"This is the perfect disguise." I insisted. "Trust me. Solar Flare says she's sick of everyone always focusing on her looks."

"She did try to melt Blue Tornado's face off after he complimented her hair yesterday." Dani commented thoughtfully. I nodded.

"I get the feeling you're just doing this to humiliate me." Megahertz grumbled.

"No." Dani shook her head, though she didn't hide the wide smirk on her face.

"And even if we were, you have tried to electrocute us, like, 11 times." I added. Megahertz rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, to lure out the villains who are after you, I put a post on a villain website that Quimby Fletcher would be signing comic books at the Domain this afternoon." He told us.

"Do you think that Mr. Terror's henchmen will the see the post?" Dani questioned.

"Totally." Megahertz agreed. "Every villain is on MurderFaceSpace." He glowered in annoyance. 'First he invents a popular website, then he gets kitchen duty. Murder Face has all the luck."

"Let's just go, okay?" I told them. "We can talk about this later."

"Lead the way." Dani held out her arm and I pushed Megahertz into the ER. The plan was to get him out through the ambulance bay – no one would be down there right now. Unfortunately, this plan went to pieces when we ran into Benny and the real Solar Flare on our way.

"Told you." Dani sang softly as Solar Flare's eyes widened and a ball of fire appeared between her hands. Alarms starting blaring, and I froze. Crap, crap, crap. "Hey, there's no need for that. Replicate is just goofing around and morphed into Solar Flare." Dani lied smoothly, unfazed by the alarms. I nodded eagerly, going with my sister's excuse.

"And Replicate, you look nothing like her." I added. "Solar Flare is way more attractive."

Though, that clearly did not appease the hero. In fact, it only seemed to anger her more. "Not that I'm focusing on your looks. I wouldn't give you on a second glance."

The fireball in her hands grew. I glanced back at Dani and Megahertz for help, but both of them seemed particularly interested in the ceiling. Thanks for the help, guys…

"Not that you're not attractive. I mean, you are attractive, but not…" I tried to correct myself, but at this point, I had no idea what to say. "Please don't melt my face off."

She glared at me for another moment, then let it go. I let out a sigh of relief as the alarms died, and I pushed Megahertz towards the door. "Wow, first you dress me up like a woman, then you tell me I'm not attractive? No wonder you don't have a girlfriend." Megahertz grumbled.

"He's got a point." Dani agreed.

"Well you two are getting awfully chummy." I commented, annoyed. She laughed lightly, amused. "And that was a pretty good lie back there."

"You're welcome." She commented.

"Just be careful. Slippery slope and all." I cautioned.

"Oh, c'mon, Ollie." She looked at me as we left the hospital. "A little white lie never hurt anyone."

** Kaz's POV **

I flipped through my comic book, crossing my legs. "I hope you're not too tired up there doing nothing."

"How can I be tired?" I replied, scoffing. "I just took a 45-minute nap."

I chuckled, amused that Skylar was still digging and I was still relaxing, and reached for my drink just as the sounds of metal hitting metal came from the hole. "Hey! I hit something! I think it's the alien spaceship!"

"How do you know it's the alien spaceship?" I called back. I really didn't feel like getting up.

"Uh, I'm from space." She reminded me. "I'm an alien."

"Right. I always forget that." I closed my comic book and hopped down into the hole. Skylar was standing above a now open metal trap door. She glanced up at me, then disappeared down the hole. I followed suit, grabbing the rings of a ladder I couldn't really see.

Once Skylar hit a switch and turned on the lights, I had to admit that the ship was pretty cool. It was high-tech, with two big, comfortable chairs in front of a set of controls. There were screens everywhere, their colors ranging from blue to purple. "This is so cool." I commented, looking around. "But I don't see how anyone could travel across the galaxy in this thing. It doesn't even have any cup holders."

"Kaz, focus." Skylar pointed between the chairs. "There are cup holders right in front of you."

"Oh, cool." I grinned, checking them out. Aliens had cup holders.

"Alright, now I just need to find where the Arcturion is." Skylar looked around, a thoughtful frown on her face.

"Hey, I found a clue." I offered, swiping a piece of paper off the controls. It had an image of two horizontal lines and two vertical lines, separating the paper into 9 separate sections. There was three Xs on the sheet, one in top left corner, one in the bottom left corner, and one in the middle section, on the far left. There were also three circles one in the unoccupied section on the left, one in the direct middle, and one in the bottom middle section. "Okay, we just have to decipher the symbols from this ancient alien language."

"Kaz, that's a game of tic-tac-toe." Skylar pointed out.

"Oh." Yeah, that made more sense. "In that case," I pulled a pen out of my pocket, one I'd 'borrowed' from Mighty Med, and finished the game. "I win! Take that, long-dead alien opponent."

"Kaz, look." Skylar pulled a glass pyramid out of a corner or the spaceship. Inside, there was a pink orb, a lavender infinity symbol imprinted in it. "It must be the Arcturion."

"Okay, now let's get out of here and bring this thing back to Mighty Med." Skylar decided.

"I have a better plan." I replied. "We're going to bring this thing back to Mighty Med, but first, we have to get out of here."

"All you did was slightly reword what I said." Skylar accused.

"That's not all I did." I retorted. "I also took credit for your idea."

Suddenly, a weird sound came from above us. I went to check to trapdoor, but I couldn't open it. "What's going on?" Skylar demanded. "Is someone dumping dirt in the ditch?"

"I think so." I frowned, pushing on the door again. It wouldn't even budge. "Must be Mr. Terror's henchmen! They're covering up the escape hatch. It's too heavy to open."

"There's no way out?" Skylar stared at me with wide, desperate eyes. "Why? Why?"

"I'm guessing they're trying to suffocate us, and then they'll dig up the Arcturion and take it." I said thoughtfully.

"No!" She snapped. "I meant of all people to spend my last few minutes alive with, why does it have to be you? Why?"

I rolled my eyes. "Could be worse. If it were Oliver in here with you, he'd be totally freaking out. Claustrophobia, remember?"

"So, you're the second worst person to be stuck in here with?" Skylar looked at me.

"Yep." I nodded. I glanced up at the trapdoor. "You know, I bet it's not even Mr. Terror's henchmen. I bet it's Mr. Terror himself. Only a sick, twisted person could do something this evil."

"It's not use." I commented as Skylar tried the hatch herself. "We're trapped. We're going to be buried alive."

"Help!" She shouted. "Help! Get us out of here! Help!"

"Spaceship help system activated." We turned around to see a holographic lizard head floating above the control panel. Skylar and I looked at each other, then back at the lizard head. "My language sensors have detected English. "I am the holographic caretaker of this ship."

"We need your help." Skylar and I rushed to the seats at the controls. "We're being buried alive and we need to find a way out."

"If you activate the ship's thrusters, there might be just enough fuel left to get you to the surface." The hologram told us. "Here's what you do: First, pull the lavender-colored lever. Then push the button with the canary-colored trapezoid." Skylar did as she was told. "Finally, push the button with the blue colored -"

The next word out his mouth was just a series of growls and clicking noises. "What?" I questioned, confused. Skylar shook her head helplessly, then looked down at the remaining buttons.

"There are only two blue buttons." She commented.

"We'll just try them both." I suggested.

"Excellent plan." The hologram agreed. "Except one of the blue buttons will activate the thrusters, and the other will make your heads explode."

Seriously? Well, actually, I shouldn't be all that surprised – I've seen weirder stuff than buttons that make heads explode.

"So you're saying there's a 50/50 chance of blowing ourselves up?" Skylar demanded.

"I'm sorry, but your help session is now over." The hologram informed us. "Your refernce number is Y, as if you're, G, as in going, 2 as in to, and D, as in die."

The hologram disappeared. "Well, he was helpful." I laughed nervously, glancing at the buttons.

** Oliver's POV **

"Wow, why did no one show up for the Quimby Fletcher book signing?" I wondered, looking around. The Domain was completely empty – not even Barry or Gus had bothered to show up.

"I guess villains don't use MurderFaceSpace anymore." Megahertz commented, frowning.

"I can't say I blame them." Dani mentioned, looking at her phone. "How may videos do we have to see of your baby's first crime?"

"Are you on that site?" I demanded, looking at her. She glanced at her phone, then back at me, before quickly sliding the device back into her pocket.

"…No." She mumbled.

"Dee, that site's for villains!" I scolded. She shrugged.

"The more we learn about the superhero's enemies, the easier we can defeat them." She reasoned. "If we knew everything about Mr. Terror, I'm sure you wouldn't be so scared of him."

"Well, I think I have the right to be scared." I gulped, remembering why this had been so important. "I can't keep living under the constant threat of being destroyed. I wish Quimby Fletcher didn't even exist."

"Then, I guess I'm the tooth fairy." We spun around to see Mort enter the store. "'Cause I'm about to grant your wish."

"Actually, the tooth fairy doesn't grant wishes." I pointed out. He frowned, realizing I was right.

"Right." He agreed. "Then how about I knock your teeth out and give you money for 'em? Am I more like the tooth fairy now?"

"A little." Dani gulped, stepping closer to Megahertz.

"So, I guess you saw my post online." Megahertz addressed Mort. The henchmen nodded, pulling out his phone.

"Yeah. I'm on that website all day. It has all the latest gossip." Mort chuckled. "It says here there's some fella called Megahertz that dresses like a girl."

"You shut your mouth!" Megahertz snapped. Mort pocketed his phone.

"Let's get this over with, Quimby Fletcher. I got a funeral to go to later." He told me. "Yours."

He leapt at us, but to my genuine surprise, Megahertz pushed Dani and I out of harm's way, and took on the henchmen himself. He grabbed Mort midair and used his momentum to help throw him all the way into the backroom. I, meanwhile, ducked behind one of the cardboard cutouts and posed so that the cardboard completely protected me. "Seriously?" Dani looked at me from her own hiding spot behind a metal rack of comic books.

Meanwhile, Megahertz had begun to shoot red balls of electricity at Mort. The overly-agile henchmen avoided them, leaping and gripping to the ceiling like a reptile. He turned his head to glare menacingly at Megahertz before spitting a few balls of goo at the villain. Megahertz carefully avoided the first goo ball, but the second one hit him in the forearm, encasing it completely and trapping the limb against the entry way doorframe.

While he was stuck, Mort raced forward and starting laying on punches to Megahertz stomach. Considering how small a guy Mort was, I was surprised to see Megahertz wince in pain with every punch. However, it wasn't like that would keep the villain from fighting back. Using his free arm, Megahertz pushed Mort back, hard enough that he toppled onto the couch, then the villain used his powers to blast the goo restraining him to pieces.

Mort began, once again, shooting goo balls at Megahertz, and that was when I realized that Dani had moved from her hiding spot. Before I could stop her, she raced over to the other end of the store, grabbed a novelty shield, and threw it towards Megahertz like a Frisbee. "Megahertz, incoming!" She called.

He caught it with one hand, and used it to deflect one of Mort's goo balls back at him. When Mort ducked to avoid his own attack, Megahertz dropped the shield and created a ball of red lightning between his hands. He shot it right at Mort before the henchmen could recover from the previous attack, smirking when it hit the henchmen right in the chest. While the blast wasn't strong enough to knock Mort out completely, it did send the henchmen running with his tail between his legs, so to speak.

"Megahertz, thank you." I looked at the villain in surprise. "You saved my life."

"Being a good guy is fun." Megahertz grinned. "You still get to destroy people, but instead of getting in trouble, you get fro-yo. By the way, you're buying me fro-yo."

"Me too, please." Dani called over her shoulder as she headed into the backroom, where Mort had fled to. I went to stop her – for all we knew, he was still hiding in there, waiting to pounce – but she stopped me with a quick reply. "He must have escaped through the back door. He's gone."

"Fro-yo can wait." I told them. "We need to get to the school and make sure Kaz and Skylar are okay."

Because last I checked, Mort had a partner, and if he wasn't here, where was he?

"Wait." Dani stepped out of the backroom, looking at a phone. She looked at me, smiling widely. "Look what Mort dropped."

"His phone?" I looked at it, stunned. This was amazing.

"We could use this to find out information about Mr. Terror." Dani practically read my mind. She fiddled with it for a second, then cursed. "Damn it. It's password locked."

"Wow, look at his lock screen." I whistled, seeing the pretty, dark haired girl on the screen. "His girlfriend's pretty."

"Ollie, that's a hostage." Dani pointed out, nodding her head at the ropes surrounding the girl's arms. Come to think of it, she did look terrified.

"Oh." I shook myself. "C'mon. We have to go find Kaz and Skylar."

** Kaz's POV **

"I think you're wrong." Skylar insisted, glaring at me. We'd just spent the past fifteen minutes arguing about which blue button we should press, and she still wouldn't admit that she was wrong. "I think we should press this button because it looks like a key, and a key starts an engine."

"And I think we should push this button because it's closer." I retorted, gesturing at the button that had the weird, blue, flower-like symbol on it.

"Fine." Skylar threw her hands up in the air dramatically, giving up. "I don't even care anymore. Push whatever button you want."

I hesitated. What if Skylar was right? I mean, we had no way of knowing which one was right, and to be honest, I kinda wanted to press her button a bit…In the end, I decided to do what I did best – piss of Skylar. I pressed the button with the flower symbol on it, and braced myself. To my surprise, instead of our heads coming apart in a massive, bloody explosion, the entire ship began to shake roughly. It was when the dirt wall pushing against the windshield began to move did I realize that the thrusters were working.

I laughed in relief as we hit the surface. The ship was still buried in the dirt, but the sunlight shining through cracks at the top proved that we were at least close enough to climb out through the hatch. "I did it. I did it!" Skylar exclaimed in disbelief once the ship stopped moving. I stared at her.

"You did it?" I repeated. "I'm the one who pushed the right button!"

"Yeah, but I tricked you into it." Skylar explained, sounding very proud of herself. "I knew that if I said I wanted to press the first button, you would want to push the second button."

"But I was trying to trick you!" I retorted. "See, I only said that I wanted to push the second button because I really wanted to push the first one."

"Then why did you push the second button?" Skylar frowned.

"Because I got confused." I admitted. She rolled her eyes and headed started climbing up the ladder. I, on the other hand, grabbed a device out of a cubby-like section of the ship. It was long and gun-like, looking very similar to the space weapons I'd seen in comics before.

"What's that for?" Skylar questioned, pausing with her hand on the handle of the trapdoor.

"There's a villain up there trying to bury us alive. This has got to be some kind of weapon." I reasoned. Alivia was always worrying about how Dani, Oliver, and I couldn't protect ourselves. If I could figure out how to use this weapon to defend myself, and them, then maybe it would be a little weight off her shoulders.

"Why didn't you just grab the sword?" Skylar questioned, gesturing at the age old, medieval weapon sitting in the corner.

"Because this one was closer." I retorted, gesturing for her to keep going. She shook her head at me, then opened the hatch and climbed out. I followed her, but I was barely out of the hatch before Oliver, Dani, and Megahertz came into view. Wait, Megahertz?

"Guys, watch out!" Skylar shouted, lunging forward and kicking Megahertz in the chest. The villain stumbled back in surprise, but didn't try to attack her.

"Why would you do that?" He demanded. I stepped in front of Dani, who was the closest to me, holding out the ray gun I'd grabbed.

"Because you were trying to bury alive, and now you've captured Oliver and Dani!" Skylar accused.

"Skylar, we just got here." Unexpectedly, Oliver began to defend Megahertz. "Megahertz, Dee, and I were at the Domain."

"He saved our lives." Dani added, placing her hand on top of mine to get me to lower the weapon. I sighed, disappointed I didn't get to try that bad boy out, but lowered it and took her hand with my free one.

"Yeah!" Megahertz agreed, walking back over to us. "I've seen the error of my way, and I wanna follow the path of virtue and righteous…forget everything I just said." His gaze was focused on the Arcturion. He swiped it out of Skylar's hands and backed away, a greedy look on his face. "This is mine!"

"What are you doing?" Dani demanded, staring at him.

"I don't know." Megahertz replied, unable to tear his gaze away from the alien artifact. "I have no idea what this thing is, but for some reason, I have to have it."

"But I thought you said you were wearing a device that kept you from doing anything evil." Oliver protested.

"Yeah. I guess he super villainous guy lied to you. What are the odds?" Megahertz chuckled. He tried to leave, but I wasn't about to let him.

"Give me back the Arcturion." I ordered, holding the ray gun up to his face. He smirked, unfazed.

"Or what?" He challenged.

"Or this." I pressed a button on the side of it, expecting it to shoot a fireball or laser or something. Instead, I discovered that the device in my hands was not a ray gun, but rather a hair dryer. Megahertz raised an eyebrow as hot air blew onto his face.

"I have to admit, this is making my face uncomfortably warm." He told me. I sighed and tossed the hair dryer away. Skylar sprung into action and kicked the Arcturion out of Megahertz hands. I caught it as it fell, but that only made Megahertz target me.

"Oliver!" I shouted before throwing the Arcturion into the air. It flew over Megahertz's head, right into Oliver's waiting arms. Megahertz spun around, but Dani ran past him, clapping her hands twice as she went. Oliver, recognizing her signal, tossed the Arcturion past Megahertz, running past him when the villain. Dani caught the artifact with ease, but before she could throw it to another one of us, Skylar I figured, Megahertz raised his hand and surrounded the four of us with restraints made of red electricity. He forced us all together, then took the Arcturion out of Dani's hands.

"Thank you very much." He smirked at her infuriated expression. He started to tighten the restraints, but before he could really hurt us, he paused, hearing a sound. "What's that?"

I wanted so badly to laugh in delight, but I forced myself to keep a straight face as a bobcat digger came rolling towards us. Gus wasn't even looking where he was going as he drove the machine towards us, his eyes locked on his phone screen.

"It's the power of the Arcturion." Dani lied in response to Megahertz's question. He didn't have a chance to respond before the metal claw of the digger hit him in the head and he was knocked to the ground. When the electricity restraints disappeared and he didn't move to get up, even when Gus dumped the entire claw's worth of dirt on top of him, I ran over and grabbed the Arcturion.

"Hey guys." Gus grinned at us, looking up from his phone. "Sorry I left, but I ran out of dirt. I called Dirt Fry the Dirt Guy, but he was out, so I had to go to my backup dirt guy, Clark Kirk the Dirt Clerk."

"Wait, you were the one who was filling the ditch with dirt?" Skylar demanded, glaring at him. Of course, Gus couldn't have known that he nearly killed us, but still, dude, what the hell?

"That's an odd way of saying thank you." Gus commented. "So is this – Swallank loo." He said thank you again, swirling his tongue around his mouth as he did.

** Oliver's POV **

Within the hour, we had Mighty Max prison guards down at the school to deal with Megahertz. Skylar escorted Gus out of the area, making sure he didn't realize that he'd knocked out a supervillain, while Dani and Kaz disappeared altogether. I figured that they went to hide the Arcturion, but honestly, it was just as likely that they went to make out somewhere. But since I really didn't want to think about that, I just assumed the first option, and forced myself to pay attention elsewhere.

"Please, don't send me back to jail." Megahertz begged me, just as Skylar came back. "I have to share a cell with Flesh Mangler. His stories are so boring. Spoiler alert: they all involve flesh mangling."

"Send him to Mighty Max." I ordered the guards.

"And make sure he doesn't get any fro-yo." Dani added. I turned to see her and Kaz heading back over to us, the former carrying a tray of fro-yo cups in her hands, and the latter holding his backpack.

"You guys went for fro-yo?" I demanded as the guards dragged Megahertz away. They both nodded. "Did you bring us some?"

"Duh." Dani looked at me like I was crazy before handing Skylar and I each a cup. "They only had strawberry though."

"So, where's the Arcturion?" Skylar questioned.

"Here." Kaz assured her, pulling it out of his backpack. I chuckled, amused.

"I can't believe you guys found it on your own." I told them honestly. "I was sure you'd be fighting over which switch to flip."

"And then Skylar would try to use reverse psychology, and then Kaz would get all confused." Dani added.

"What?" Skylar laughed loudly. "How could you even think that? That's not at all what happened."

"Yeah, it was a button, not a switch." Kaz agreed. Skylar hit him in the arm, though I wasn't at all surprised.

"Alright, well, until we figure out what to do with the Arcturion, we need to hide it somewhere safe." I decided. Kaz nodded, and reached for his pants. "Not in your pants." I told him. He shrugged and reach towards me. "Not in my pants." Kaz shrugged again, then turned towards Dani with a smirk on his face. "Don't even think about it."

"Fine. I'll put it in my backpack." Kaz shoved the Arcturion into his backpack, then placed it on the ground near the school doors just as I caught sight of Gus walking back towards us.

"Gus, what are you doing here? Again?" Skylar questioned.

"I forgot my bobcat." He explained. When he went to go inside the school, instead of up to his machine, I frowned.

"It's right there, Gus." I pointed it out.

"No, my other bobcat." Gus explained. A loud animalistic screech came from beyond the school's doors. "Oh, there she is. I better go. If I don't feed her on time, she wets the floor with people's innards."

"I'll help." Dani offered. I grabbed her by the arm, stopping her. "Ollie, c'mon."

"You know those things are dangerous, right?" He asked. She nodded.

"I'm not going to go near it." She told me. I raised an eyebrow.

"You really expect me to believe that if I let you go in there, you're not going to try and pet it?" I questioned. She hesitated.

"No…" She sighed.

"C'mon Dee." Kaz offered her his hand, which she took. "We should probably go check on Liv, see how she's feeling."

"You just want to brag about how we found the Arcturion without her." I accused.

"Who says we can't do both?" He asked in response, smirking as he led my sister down the road.


	15. The Mother of All Villains

** Kaz's POV **

"Okay, we can not let the Arcturion get into the wrong hands." Oliver announced, leading us into Mighty Med. "Kaz, you hide it somewhere safe. Skylar, Liv, you call the clean-up crew to get the spaceship and bring it here. Dee, call Calla and see if she can break into Mort's phone remotely."

"Why I have to do any work?" I complained. I looked at Oliver. "I feel like you don't respect my laziness."

"Kaz, just help." Dani told me. "We have a million things to do today, and it would really be appreciated."

"Well, why isn't Oliver doing anything?" I protested.

"I have to go get extensions put in before my mom's wedding tomorrow." He explained.

"You're getting hair extensions?" Skylar frowned.

"No, leg extensions." My best friend clarified. "Mother wants me to be taller for the wedding photos."

"See ya in a few." Dani called after him. She pulled out her phone, holding Mort's phone in her other hand. "I'm gonna see what Calla can do for us."

She walked away while dialing, leaving me, Alivia, and Skylar to deal with Arcturion. "I'm just going to put it in the vault safe." I decided. Alivia reached up to remove the painting of the bridge that hid the vault from sight.

"Hey, how're you feeling, by the way?" Skylar asked the red-head as I inputted the code.

"Better." Alivia smiled at her gratefully. "I think I just needed a sick day."

"We all need one of those from time to time." I assured her, placing my entire backpack in the safe. "So, speaking of the wedding, you're coming, right? I know Oliver and Dani were only allowed one date each, but…"

"I'll be there." She assured us. "Alan invited me and Jaime, and Horace invited a number of the superheroes, so we'll have enough backup in case Mr. Terror shows his ugly face. I'm pretty sure Spotlight will be there, and I've already briefed him on what's going on."

"Cool." I nodded. We'd all be on edge because of the Mr. Terror thing, but Oliver was stressing about it the most, enough that Dani was convinced he was just one more attack away from completely freaking out. Having that much protection at the wedding might get him to relax long enough to actually enjoy it.

** Oliver's POV **

"Wow, this place is actually nice." Dani commented as we walked towards Mom and Horace's suite at the hotel Mom had insisted on booking for the wedding. We were both dressed and ready for the wedding – me in my tuxedo and Dee in the red, sleeveless dress Mom had let her pick out. I was surprised when Dani had told me that, but I'm not sure if it was because she chose an actual pretty, non-superhero themed dress for the wedding, or because Mom trusted her to choose the dress in the first place. But, lately they'd both been getting along in a way I'd never seen, so I chose not to comment on it.

"Still no response from Calla?" I asked as Dani checked her phone again. She shook her head slowly, careful not to mess up the curls that Mom had put in her hair this morning. It was a little strange, I had to admit, to see her bangs brushed out of her face.

"I tried earlier, but her voicemail message said she was in some place called Davenportia?" She shrugged. I frowned, and she shook her head helplessly. "I don't know. And I have no idea when she's getting back."

"Oh, Oliver, Danica, good. You're here." Mom gushed when we stepped into the hotel room. "We're having a bit of a crisis."

"Don't worry, it's totally normal to have wedding-day jitters." I reassured her.

"Oh, I'm not the one with jitters." Mom glanced back at the bathroom. Horace ran out of the washroom, wrapped in a bathrobe. There was a towel wrapped around his head as he stared in horror at his reflection in a handheld mirror.

"Kids, don't look at me!" He cried. "I have hair all over my face!"

"That's your goatee. You've always had that." I pointed out. He stared at me.

"And you let me walk around like this?" Horace demanded.

"You see what I'm dealing with?" Mom sighed. "Now, there's still a lot to do before the wedding, so I'll need you two and Alan t help with a few important errands."

"Consider it done, future Mom." Alan assured her, walking out of the bathroom. He was nibbling on a piece of white soap. "I'm here for you, and for these delicious white chocolates."

"Those are hand soaps." Mom told him. He frowned, wrinkling his nose as he stared down at the white, circular object.

"Oh no." Horace gasped. "Because of the stress, one eyebrow's higher than the other!"

"Then just lower it." Dani told him, a confused look on her face. He lowered the heightened eyebrow, but the other one shot straight up, higher than the other one had been.

"You just made it worse!" He accused. He ran into the bedroom, my Mom following him with an exasperated look on her face. Suddenly, Dani's purse, a small red one that she'd borrowed from Alivia, began to ring. She glanced down at it, using her hands to try and muffle the sound.

"Why don't you answer that?" Alan questioned, frowning. Dani and I exchanged looks.

"It's not my phone." She slowed pulled the phone out of her purse. "Look, keep this quiet, but we need to unlock this phone ASAP."

"It belongs to a villain who's after me.' I explained. "But we need the password."

"Have you tried 'sweater vest'?" Alan offered, trying to be helpful. Dani frowned.

"No, but is that your password?" She questioned.

"No." He retorted after a moment, but his hesitation gave him away.

"Gus!" Dani clapped her hands together suddenly. She turned to me. "Remember how, when Skylar first started coming to school with us, and I gave her my old cell phone? Well, it had been a while since I used it, and I couldn't remember the password, but Gus was able to figure it out. I mean, it took him a couple of days, but that would usually take me a week."

"Worth a shot." I pulled out my phone and sent him a quick text. "I'll have him meet us at the Domain."

"Good. I'll let Kaz, and the others know as well." Dani offered, grabbing her own phone and sending out a mass text. I looked at Alan.

"Don't tell our Mom or Horace about any of this." I told Alan. "I don't want them more stressed than they already are."

"Yeah. You got it." Alan assured us. I looked at Dani.

"Let's go." I told her. She nodded and headed out the door, slowing down to let me keep up.

** Kaz's POV **

"Hey, Dani texted." Jaime announced, walking into Mighty Med with Alivia just behind her. The blonde frowned as she stepped past the large, high-tech part of the spaceship, though Alivia, who'd already seen it, didn't pay it much attention.

"I know." I replied, leaning against the counter in the ER. I'd just read her text, actually. Apparently, she thought that Gus could help with the phone situation, and she needed us to meet her at the Domain in twenty minutes.

"Hey, you get Dani's text?" Skylar questioned, walking up. I looked up to greet her, but blinked in surprise when I saw that her face was covered in a thick layer of green goo.

"You look nice." I commented. She rolled her eyes.

"I'm getting ready for the wedding." She explained. "But first, I need to put on my face mask."

"What's that green thing?" Jaime questioned, as confused as I was.

"Oh, this is my actual face." Skylar informed us, gesturing at the green goo. "What you see every day is a mask."

Jaime and I both stared at her, almost disgusted. I mean, I'd seen weirder, but still…this might be something Oliver needed to know, if he was so determined that they would end up together.

"I'm kidding." Skylar laughed, amused. "I may have three bladders, but I don't have a hideous green face."

To prove her point, she reached up to her face and peeled off her green face mask.

"What is this?" Philip, the large headed nurse, questioned as he noticed the device. He looked at Skylar. "And why'd you take that green mask off? You look so much prettier with it on."

"It's an engine of an alien spaceship that was buried underneath Logan High." Alivia explained. "The ship was too big to move all at once."

"Yeah, the rest of the ship is in the garage." I added. "We parked it in Tecton's spot. The guy can fly; why he needs a moped, I have no idea."

"This spaceship…" Philip frowned. "Did it, by chance, have a pyramid in it with a glowing Arcturion inside?"

"You've heard of the Arcturion?" We all stared at him, shocked.

"It's a long story." Philip began.

"Ugh, then never mind." Jaime grumbled.

"A thousand years ago," Philip continued as if she'd never spoken, "scientists from my home planet, Baaaaahh, created the Arcturion as a power source, but they decided it was too dangerous for anyone to possess, so they designed a spaceship to launch the Arcturion into the nearest yellow sun, yours, and I flew that spaceship."

"You were the pilot they trusted most, out of all the people on Baaaaahh?" I questioned, impressed. I'd always thought of Philip as kinda useless, and a little annoying. But if he was considered this important on his planet, maybe I'd misjudged him.

"Actually, I was the janitor." Philip admitted. "When I was cleaning the spaceship, I accidently launched it…when I was fooling with the controls, pretending I was a space captain."

He sounded pretty ashamed, so I felt like I should cheer him up. "Hey, man, we have all been there before, right? Vroom-vroom. Pyew, pyew…"

"Enough!" Jaime cut me off before I could continue.

"You were saying, Philip?" Alivia urged the nurse to continue.

"Right." Philip nodded. "So, the ship went off course and it went spiraling down. I was able to eject safely before it crashed, but I've always thought that the Arcturion was lost forever."

"Man, those scientists must have been pretty mad after they found out what you did." I chuckled.

"Yeah, but I was already an outcast back on Baaaaahh. You know, because of my embarrassingly tiny head."

"Sure." Skylar, Alivia, and I had heard that part of the story a number times, but Jaime looked as confused as ever.

"Anyway, I was banished forever and forced to wander this city for the last ten centuries." Philip finished.

"Wait." Suddenly, I had an idea. "What if we can somehow repair this spaceship's ending? Then Philip can fly the Arcturion into the sun, destroying it once and for all."

"Yes." Philip grinned at the idea. "If I complete this mission, I can return to my planet as a hero. It's time to make you proud, President Headly."

"Let me guess. He was elected because of the size of his head?" Alivia guessed.

"In spite of it." Philip corrected, showing her a picture of a man with a head at least twice the size of his. "He has the second-smallest head on my planet."

** Oliver's POV **

"He's late." Dani commented, glancing her phone as she sat on the arm of the couch in the Domain.

"He said he'd be here, didn't he?" Barry questioned, from where he stood behind the counter. I pulled out my phone in annoyance, and dialed Gus' number. To my frustration, the call went to voicemail.

"Gus, I'm waiting in the Domain. Hurry." I told him, just as Dani's phone rang. She picked it up.

"Hey Mom." She greeted. She frowned, then stood up suddenly. "No, we're not at that silly comic book store. I'm nowhere near that 'ugly' sofa, or those 'pathetic cardboard superheroes'." She looked at me, a slightly guilty look on her face.

"Speaker." I told her. She nodded and pressed the button. "Hey Mom." I said, letting her know that I was here too.

"Where are you? The wedding is in two hours." She reminded us.

"Mom, the truth is…" I glanced at Dani. She was always a better liar than I was, and though that did bother me, it did occasionally come in handy.

"We're picking up a very special gift that we got you and Horace for your wedding." She gave me a shrug.

"That is so sweet." Mom cooed. "You know, I was worried that you two were unhappy I was remarrying, or that you didn't like Horace, but I'm so glad you approve. It means everything to me."

"Of course, Mom." "We're happy for you." We assured her.

"We'll be back at the hotel soon." I added.

"I can't wait to see your gift." Mom gushed. "Just remember what I've always told you; it's not the gift that counts, it's how much it costs."

** Kaz's POV **

"Nice vest." I chuckled, smirking at Spotlight's apparel. About half the people in Mighty Med were at least partially dressed for the wedding.

"It's all I had. Horace invited me last minute – otherwise, I would have found a suit or something." He explained as we headed into the ER. Jaime, Alivia, and Skylar, the latter two finishing their hair while the first had already moved onto her makeup. Philip, on the other hand, was standing near the spaceship engine, a pile of nuts and bolts sitting at his feet.

"Philip, I thought you said you were almost done." I looked at him questioningly. "What's with all those loose parts?"

"These aren't loose parts. On my planet, this is food." Philip replied grabbing a handful. He offered Spotlight and I each one. "Want some?"

"No thanks. I'm trying to cut down on junk." I replied. Spotlight shook his head and leaned on the edge of the counter.

"Geminus, Spark. How are my two favorite ladies?" He smirked charmingly at them. The two girls looked at each other, then rolled their eyes in sync.

"Hello, Liam." Jaime smirked at him. Alivia raised an eyebrow.

"Your real name is Liam?" She inquired. Spotlight sent Jaime a half-hearted glare before smirking at Alivia.

"Yes. Now, I don't recall you ever telling me your real name…" He looked at her. She laughed, not answered. "Oh, come on. Don't make me guess."

"Actually, that sounds more fun." She replied, a light in her eyes. "Guess my name, and I'll…"

"Give me every number of every girl you know who's currently single." He insisted.

"Really?" Jaime looked at him. He shrugged.

"What? I gotta have options." He replied. "And challenge accepted…Sarah?"

"Nope." Alivia smirked, popping the P sound.

"I did it!" Philip exclaimed suddenly. We all turned to look at him. "I fixed the ship's engine. Oh, just think, in five minutes, I'll be all-" He began to make spaceship noise.

"Would you stop?" Jaime complained.

"I'll get the Arcturion." Skylar offered, heading over to the safe to retrieve my backpack.

"Uh, before you go, I'm just gonna open the case, touch the orb, and get super powers real quick." I told Philip. I figured, if it was a power source, touching it should give me super powers, right? I mean, radiation is a source of power, and Spiderman got his powers through being bitten by a radioactive spider. The concept should be the same, right?

"No, no, you can't. You can't open it." Philip told me sternly. "Any mortal who tries to hold the Arcturion will perish."

"Why are cool things always so dangerous?" I complained. "Arcturions, chainsaws, kettle corn."

"How is kettle corn dangerous?" Alivia questioned, frowning.

"You always end up eating the whole bag." I replied. Duh.

"He's right, baby." Jaime agreed.

"Here." Skylar handed me my backpack. I opened it up and reached inside, but to my surprise, instead of gripping the sharp edges of a glass pyramid, my hand closed around what felt like a plastic jar. When I removed the object, I realized that the only thing in the backpack was a large jar of mayonnaise.

"Oh no. This is Gus' backpack. He must have taken mine by mistake." I realized in horror.

"How?" Jaime frowned.

"They have the same backpack." Alivia explained.

"And somehow, I keep forgetting that, despite the fact that every time I see him, he yells 'hey, backpack twin!'." I added.

"We need to find Gus and get your backpack back." Alivia stood up.

"Hey, Philip, we need to run out for a minute." Jaime let the nurse know as we all headed for the door.

"Oh, can you pick up some motor oil?" Philip requested. Spotlight frowned.

"Uh, why? Are you thirsty?" He questioned, confused.

"No. I need to lubricate the engine." Philip stared at the hero. "What kind of freak drinks motor oil?"

"Yeah, Liam." Alivia teased. Clearly, she liked the fact that she knew his name, but he didn't know hers. I guess it made her feel superior or something.

"Is it Mary?" Spotlight questioned as we headed out the door.

"Not even close!" She laughed.

** Oliver's POV **

"Finally." Dani sighed. I turned to see Gus outside the door to the Domain.

"What took you so long?" I demanded when he walked in.

"I've been running as fast as I can for the last half hour." Gus defended himself. "Then I realized I was on a treadmill in the gym."

I shook my head. "Never mind. We need you to help us get into this phone."

Dani handed Gus the phone. He turned it over in his hands for a moment, then looked at us. "Do you have a microwave?" He asked.

"No…" Dani frowned. Gus sighed.

"So much for heating up this ravioli." He pulled the container of pasta out of his backpack, looking disappointed. He tossed the backpack on the couch. He thought for a moment. "Do you have any parmesan cheese?"

"Stop with the ravioli!" I snapped. Gus stared at me.

"It's not for the ravioli. I need it to unlock your phone." He told me, shaking his head as he headed past Barry and into the back.

"Why the heck is my standee fifty percent off?" We turned around to see Skylar, Kaz, Alivia, Jaime, and Spotlight behind us.

"When did you guys get here?" I questioned, having not noticed them walk in.

"Like, three seconds ago." Kaz replied, grabbing Gus' backpack and replacing it with his own.

"Let me guess, you guys switched backpacks again?" Dani looked at Kaz, smirking.

"Maybe…" He admitted.

"So, you guys hid the Arcturion somewhere safe, right?" I questioned, double checking.

"Totally." Jaime told me, nodding a little too eagerly.

"So, has Gus unlocked Mort's phone yet?" Alivia questioned.

"He literally just got here. It could be a while." Dani replied.

"What a day." I sighed. I glanced at my sister. "And after this, I have to go shopping."

"Oh, great. For a minute, I thought you were going to wear that tie clip." Skylar sighed in relief. I frowned, surprised by the looks of agreement on everyone's faces.

"Not shopping for me." I replied, hurt. "Dee and I haven't bought our Mom a wedding gift, and I feel terrible."

"We feel terrible." Dani corrected. Spotlight grabbed the Skylar Storm standee off the shelf and handed it to me.

"Give her this; it's half off." He suggested, trying to be helpful. I chuckled, then placed it back on the shelf.

"Thanks, but no thanks." I told him. "Anyway, I'm really glad you hid the Arcturion, because now that is's unburied, it'll probably attract more villains than ever."

"Guys." Gus walked out of the back. "Here you go. I unlocked your phone."

"What was the password?" Dani questioned, taking the phone from him.

"Mort." Gus replied. We looked at him, surprised. Really? "It's always the first thing I try."

He grabbed his real backpack and slung it over his shoulder. "See ya later, backpack twin!" He called to Kaz as he left. I turned to Dani, intending on getting her to find Mr. Terror's contact information, but she was already going through the phone.

"No information whatsoever." She glanced at me, an apologetic look on her face. "Sorry, Ollie."

"Try his emails." I suggested.

"Uh, guys?" Barry suddenly spoke up, standing up. He pointed past us.

"That's not good." Skylar commented as we turned around. Just outside the door stood five villains, all of whom I recognized. The first was Mort's new henchmen partner, the second was Slaughter Master, then Soul Slayer, the Incinerator, and finally Nightstrike, Jaime's own nemesis.

"Don't panic, guys. I have an idea." Kaz assured us. He walked up to the door and quickly changed the OPEN sign around so that it read CLOSED on the bad guys' side of the glass. "That was close."

Unsurprisingly, the villains didn't obey the sign, and walked right in. "Can you not read?" I questioned. "We're closed."

"Close your eyes!" Spotlight ordered, raising his hand. I did as I was told, but even behind my closed lids, I could tell that he had flashed a spotlight across the entire room. I felt someone, Dani I think, grab my arm and we all raced into the back, and through the emergency door into the alley behind them. "That might buy us a minute or so."

"Crap, the alley's too small for me to duplicate in. We'd been too crowded." Alivia muttered, worried.

"Then let's run and fight them later." Barry suggested. He started towards the end of the alley, but skidded to a stop when the Incinerator, the henchmen, and Soul Slayer stepped out in front of him. I turned to go back towards the store, but Slaughter Master and Nightstrike walked through the emergency door.

"Give us the Arcturion." Slaughter Master ordered.

"We don't have the Arcturion! It's safely hidden away in…" Then, it dawned on me. I walked over to Kaz. "You have the Arcturion, don't you."

"Yes." He admitted. "But in my defense, I had lost it up until, like, three minutes ago."

Nightstrike, unwilling to converse, swung his bo staff at Kaz. Jaime reacted first, shooting a ball of electricity at her nemesis. Spotlight helped her out, using his powers to blind her enemy. Skylar, on the other hand, took on Slaughter Master alone, using her unnatural agility to dodge his fists and get in a few kicks and punches of her own. Alivia and Barry handled the henchmen, the latter distracting the giant man by pelting him with trash, and the former using the man's size against him by targeting low and moving faster than he could.

However, that left both the Incinerator and Soul Slayer to us. Dani immediately armed herself with pieces of a broken pipe that no one had ever bothered to fix, launching the first one at the Incinerator. Unfortunately, it missed, but I followed her lead, grabbing an old crate from the ground and throwing it at Soul Slayer. While he did avoid it by teleporting away, it did hit the Incinerator right in the head. The blow knocked the girl to the ground, where Kaz shoved a garbage can over her head, successfully trapping her where she sat.

Kaz, Dani, and I tried to get back to the others, but just as we neared them, Skylar knocked Slaughter Master backwards, accidently sending him right in our direction. He recovered from the blow quickly, quick enough to grab Kaz as we ran by. "Hey!" Dani shouted, gripping another metal pole like a bat and slamming it into Slaughter Master's back. He stumbled under the blow, enough for Kaz to get away and for Skylar to reach our side.

"Where's Soul Slayer?" She demanded.

"Never mind that! Incinerator!" I exclaimed, seeing the pyrokinetic villain get back to her feet. She glared at us, then opened her mouth, releasing a burst of flames in our direction. Kaz, Dani, and I dropped behind a dumpster, while Skylar leapt into the air, grabbing onto the rails of a fire escape. Meanwhile, Alivia had moved onto using a pair of trash can lids as both shields and weapons, while Nightstrike and Soul Slayer had begun to team up to take on Jaime and Spotlight.

"Skylar!" I shouted as the Incinerator tried once again to blast her full of fire. Skylar swung off the rail like it was a gymnast's pole, and landed in the dumpster we were hiding behind. Kaz grabbed the last metal pole out of my sister's hands and swung it hard against a steam pipe next to us. He burst a hole in it and it spewed a stream of steam outwards and right into the Incinerator's face.

"Ah!" Jaime cried out as Slaughter Master knocked her off her feet. She landed hard on her front, knocking the air out of her.

"Jaime!" Alivia exclaimed, rushing to her side. Spotlight grabbed both girls by their arms and pulled them backwards, behind him, just as Barry ran up to meet us. The villains started to surround us, not leaving us with many options of escape.

"Okay, okay. Don't panic, I have an idea." Kaz told us. He approached the villains slowly. "Hey, hi. How's it going?"

"Your boyfriend is an idiot." Jaime hissed to my sister.

"Sometimes." Dani agreed.

"So, uh, I have the Arcturion. You want the Arcturion. So, uh…here you go." He slipped the backpack off his back and dumped in in front of all the villains before scurrying back to us. He placed himself right at the edge of the dumpster, still standing between us and the villains, but close enough that he could hide behind the dumpster if the villains attacked.

"Kaz!" Alivia shouted as the villains approached the bag.

"At last!" Slaughter Master smiled. "Ultimate power is mine!"

"Over my dead body." Nightstrike retorted.

"That can be arranged." Mr. Terror's henchmen commented. Before we knew it, all five villains were attacking each other. In seconds, they managed to knock each other out, leaving us with several unconscious villains and the Arcturion.

"Kaz, that was brilliant." Spotlight complimented him. Dani smiled, kissed Kaz on the cheek, then darted past him to grab the backpack. "How'd you know that would work?"

"I have eleven brothers and sisters." Kaz said in way of explanation. "This is exactly what happens every time there's one slice of pizza left."

** Kaz's POV **

After we escaped the villains, Spotlight and Barry offered to go with the twins back to the hotel (the former for protecting and the latter because he couldn't come to Mighty Med with us) while Jaime, Skylar, Alivia, and I went back to Mighty Med to deliver the Arcturion back to Philip.

"Philip, we're back!" I called as we walked into Mighty Med. To our surprise, Alan was there. "Alan, why aren't you at the hotel?"

"I'm trying to find a wedding gift for Bridget and my Uncle Horace. I need to outdo Dani and Oliver so that I can be the family favorite." He explained before disappearing down a hallway near the door.

"Philip!" I called once more. The alien came walking out of the rec room, dressed in a green and black flight suit. "There you are."

"We've got the Arcturion, but you need to destroy it right away. It's starting to attract every villain on the planet." Jaime added as I pulled the pyramid out of my bag. I placed it on the ER counter before facing the man.

"I'm ready to go." Philip assured us. "I'll leave Earth, launch the Arcturion into the sun, thereby destroying it, and return as the greatest hero in the history of Baaaaahh."

"Philip, thank you so much." Alivia told him. "I wish I had the words to express how grateful I feel, but I don't."

"Oh, I know!" I smirked. "Later, fool!"

"No, Geminus, thank Kaz. For making it so much easier for me to leave." He glared at me pointedly. Skylar laughed good naturedly.

"C'mon, Philip, you know you love us." She told him, opening her arms to all of us. "Let's hug it out. C'mon."

"Fine." Philip grumbled, the five of us coming in for a group hug. We pulled away after a long, long moment. "I'd better get going. I just have to say goodbye to all my friends." He paused. "Alright, I'm ready."

"Wait. Where's the Arcturion?" Skylar demanded, pushing past us. To my shock, the Arcturion was nowhere to be seen.

"It was here just a minute ago." Alivia commented, going behind the counter to check under it while Skylar searched my backpack.

"I don't know…check your mouth!" I snapped my fingers at Philip. "Did you eat it?"

"Why would I eat it?" He retorted, offended.

"Why not? Twenty minutes ago you were eating a bag of nails!" I exclaimed, exasperated.

"This was my one chance to be a hero! How could you do this to me?" Philip cried. He looked at me, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "And after I hugged you guys! I feel so dirty!"

Suddenly, my phone beeped. I pulled it out, sighing when I read the text message.

** From: Dani **

** Where are you? The wedding starts in 30 minutes! **

"The wedding starts in 30 minutes." I told the others. "Dee's wondering where we are."

"They can not find out about this." Alivia stated. "The last thing Oliver and Dani need to be worrying about right now is the missing Arcturion."

"She's right." I turned to Philip. "You keep looking for the Arcturion. We have to go change and get to Horace's wedding."

"What? You were invited? I thought no one from work was!" He exclaimed. Oops, guess Horace didn't invite everyone from Mighty Med like I thought. What didn't help was when Gamma Girl walked from the rec room to the exit, leading along the Mighty Med's only mannequin security guard on roller skates. "Even Henderson was invited?"

"Well, actually, he's Gamma Girl's date." Skylar explained. "She likes the strong, silent type."

** Oliver's POV **

"They said they'll be here soon." I told Dani after reading the text I got from Alivia. She nodded and pushed open the door to the hotel room. I carried our present in my hands. "Oh, hey Alan."

"Don't 'hey Alan' me!" The boy snapped, glaring at the present in my hands.

"Okay. Hello Alan." Dani drew out the 'o' sound, smirking a bit.

"That's better." Alan nodded at her before glaring at us once more. "Anyway, I know what you're trying to do. You're trying to become the favorites by buying our parents' affection. But it won't work, because my gift is way better than yours."

"What'd you get them?" I asked, curious. Dani and I couldn't really think of anything really special, so we got them some expensive pens. Mom liked having fancy things around her office to show off how much richer she was than her employees, and Horace was always losing his pens (or rather, Kaz was always taking them without asking), so we knew they'd at least be useful to both of them.

"Come closer and I'll whisper it in your ears." Alan encouraged us. We leaned in close. "I'M NOT TELLING!"

"Got it." Dani muttered, wincing. Alan stormed from the room, pushing past Kaz, Skylar, and Alivia as they walked in. Kaz was in his suit, Skylar was in a beautiful, dark grey, sleeveless dress and Alivia was wearing a short-sleeved, dark green dress with flowers etched into the fabric. "There you guys are."

"Spotlight, Barry, and Jaime are downstairs." Alivia told us. "You guys get your mom's gift?"

"Yeah, but we still haven't found the contact info for Mr. Terror." Dani replied, looking down at the phone in her hands.

"Give me that phone!" We all jumped as Mom came up behind me. "I'm collecting phones from all the wedding guests so no one gets distracted."

Dani and I obediently placed our phones in the basket. Mom moved onto the Kaz, who was busy texting someone. She cleared her throat and he looked up. "What's up?" He asked. She rolled her eyes and plucked the phone from his hands, dropping it in the basket she carried. She stepped over to Skylar, who gently placed her phone on top of Kaz's. Mom frowned, studying her for a moment.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"She's my-" I began to answer, but Skylar cut me off.

"Friend." She said quickly. "We're just friends. This is certainly not a date. That was the agreement."

Mom raised an eyebrow, then turned to Alivia. "Alivia." She greeted. I smirked – Alivia was probably the only one of me and Dani's friends that Mom actually approved of, probably because the red-head was ridiculously polite to adults.

"Well, I'm thrilled you're here." Mom told our friends. "This is an important day for me, Oliver, and Danica, and it's nice for my children to have friends by their sides." She sighed as she placed the basket of phones down on the table near the gifts. "Even Kaz."

She walked back into the bedroom and closed the door behind her. "'Even Kaz'?" Kaz repeated. He looked at us, stunned. "Wow! Your mom knows my name. Usually she just calls me 'that one'."

"I told you. She's actually trying to have a good relationship with me, and I guess part of that means acknowledging that my boyfriend has a name." Dani smiled brightly. She looked at me. "I'm seriously impressed. I didn't think she'd try so hard."

"Well, you haven't started an argument with her once since you guys talked, so it's definitely two ways there." I told her, sincerely proud that my mother and sister were attempting to fix things between them. Suddenly, one of the phones in the basket started to ring. Dani jumped up to answer it. "Dani!"

"It's Mort's phone! It could be Mr. Terror." She hissed before reaching for it. "Dang it! Missed the call!"

"Maybe there's a voicemail?" Alivia suggested.

"Liv, we're talking about a murderous villain seeking world domination." I reminded her. "There's no way he's going to leave a message."

"He left a message." Dani spoke up. I turned to look at her, surprised.

"What?" I questioned.

"He left a message." She repeated herself. "Listen."

She played it on speaker phone.  _"Mort, this is your last chance."_  The voice was obviously disguised, but it sounded deep and menacing none the less.  _"Bring me Quimby Fletcher's body in a box. And if he doesn't fit, fold him up like a taco so he does fit."_

I gulped nervously as the message ended. "That doesn't sound fun." I murmured, trying not to freak out. This Mr. Terror really wanted me, and he didn't care how he got me.

"Hey." Skylar put her hand on my arm. "Remember, you've got me, Liv, Jaime, Spotlight, and at least half a dozen other superheroes downstairs ready to protect you. Nothing bad is going to happen on our watch."

"Right." I nodded, smiling at her.

"You have to call him back." Kaz suggested. "Then we can find out more about him."

"Kaz, I'm sure Mr. Terror's phone is blocked. He's an evil mastermind. There's no way he's just gonna let you ring him up-" Dani tugged on my jacket sleeve. She had the phone held up to her ear.

"It's ringing." She whispered. Suddenly, one of the phones in the basket began to ring. Mom walked out of the bedroom, just as Dani dropped Mort's phone to her lap, trying to hide it.

"My phone." She explained, picking up the ringing phone. "Oh, it's just one of my employees, Mort."

She said something, something about voicemail, but I stopped listening the moment she said the name 'Mort'. No. No, no, no. No way could Mort be her employee. No way could my mom be…

"Your mom is Mr. Terror." Alivia looked at us, shocked.

"No." Dani shook her head. "No way."

"My mom cannot be Mr. Terror." I found my voice. "Villains don't put squeezable yogurts in their kids' lunch boxes."

"Ollie's right. I mean, Mom is evil," Dani admitted, "but she's not evil-evil."

"Look through her purse." Skylar suggested, ignoring me and Dani's protests. "It's the best way to learn everything about a woman."

"Fine. If it'll prove it to you." Dani got up and grabbed Mom's purse.

"It's just a regular mom purse. There's nothing in there but keys, a wallet…" I trailed off as Dani began to slowly pull items out.

"A mask. A voice modulator." Her hands shook as she continued. "A sticky note that says…'destroy Quimby Fletcher'." She looked at me. "Ollie?"

"You mother's evil, Oliver." Skylar looked at me sympathetically. "You have to face the truth."

"I don't believe this." I sat down on the couch, confused. How could my own mother want to destroy me?

"We have to get the Arcturion before she does." Skylar said to Alivia.

"You guys already have the Arcturion." Dani reminded them. They all exchanged looks.

"Actually, we may have lost it again." Kaz admitted sheepishly.

"Kaz!" Dani's voice raised an octave, revealing how upset she was. Suddenly, the door to the hotel opened up and Gus walked in.

"Sorry I'm late." He apologized. "You would not believe how evil my mother is. Just because Frederick is out sick, she made me walk my own giraffe! I swear that woman is trying to kill me!"

"#FirstWorldProblems." Alivia muttered.

"Look, Gus, not now." Skylar told him, attempting to physically remove him from the room. However, he refused to budge.

"Anyway, I wasn't sure what wedding present to get your mom, so I got her everything." Gus continued as if she'd never spoken. He clapped his hands together, and a number of manservants walked in, carrying mounds of white wrapped wedding presents. They placed them carefully on the ground at our feet. "Well, I better go take my seat. I'll se you guys down there."

Alan walked in just as Gus was leaving. His eyes popped when he saw the massive amount of gifts. "Did Gus just bring all these presents?" He demanded, shocked.

"Yes, but can you leave? We're in the middle of something!" I snapped.

"I don't care what Gus brought, because I got them the best present ever: a cool, glowing sphere inside a glass pyramid." Alan declared. We all stared at him.

"What?" We all demanded in unison. Alan grinned.

"Exactly!" He beamed. "When our mom sees it, she's gonna be, like, 'Whaaat?!' and I'm going to be, like, 'oh yeah!' and you two are going to be, like, 'Wah!'."

"Alan, describe exactly how you wrapped your present." Kaz demanded, looking at the black haired boy seriously.

"In white paper with a silver bow. I really wanted it to stand out." He told us. We all glanced at the pile of presents Gus had brought in. Each and every one of them were wrapped in white wrapping paper with silver bows. They were practically identical.

"Are you ready?" My mom's voice startled me. I let out a surprised scream when I saw her standing there, a mere two feet away. "Why are you screaming, dear? Did you catch yourself in your zipper again?"

"No!" I retorted quickly.

"Um…" Even Dani seemed to have trouble thinking of what to say. "It's bad luck for…the bride to see her children before the wedding."

** Kaz's POV **

"Oliver, Danica, Alan, come take your places." Bridget instructed. "The wedding is about to start."

Bridget and Horace led the way, Alan right behind them and the twins trailing behind.

"Unwrap all the presents until you find the Arcturion." Oliver ordered, staying behind a moment. I nodded.

"Be careful." I told them. I didn't really know why – Bridget was there mother, would she really hurt them? But then again, she was also the fiercest supervillain in the world. Dani gave me a reassuring smile as Oliver looped his arm around hers, and the siblings made their way down stairs.

"Okay." I started pulling off the tops of boxes, trying to find the Arcturion.

"Wow." I commented as I reached into one box to remove the gift.

"You found the Arcturion?" Alivia questioned, looking up from the box she had opened.

"No, these hand towels are really soft." I replied, pulling out the soft, white towels.

"Kaz, stop fooling around and-" I placed the towels in Skylar's hands and her lecture stopped as quickly as it had begun. "Wow, these are soft."

** Alan's POV **

"Alright, Oliver, Alan, you two go on ahead with Horace. Danica, as my maid of honor, you will stay here with me." Bridget told us. Dani turned to face her mother, her eyes wide.

"Huh?" She demanded.

"We talked about this dear, at the rehearsal dinner?" Bridget reminded her. She nodded at us. "Go on ahead."

"Don't leave me alone with her." Dani whispered, grabbing Oliver by the wrist with a desperate, almost scared look in her eyes. He gave her an apologetic look, but clearly had to leave with us. I smirked – why was I so worried that I wouldn't be the favorite? Sure, Uncle Horace liked those two more than me, but despite how they'd been acting lately, Bridget and Dani clearly still had some issues, and Oliver would probably pick Dani over his mother, leaving me as her favorite kid. I felt silly, having worried about this for a while now.

"Alan, what's your friend/comic book agent doing here?" Uncle Horace asked quickly, noticing that Gus was standing on the stage that Bridget and Uncle Horace were supposed to officially get married on.

"The Justice of the Peace cancelled at the last minute: something about finding me loathsome and repellent." I explained. "But as your best man, I acted quickly and found a replacement."

"Can you even legally do this?" Uncle Horace asked Gus hesitantly. "I'm not questioning your experience, it's just, you know, you're sixteen."

"Don't worry, I'm a licensed wedding officiant." Gus assured him, just as he had assured me. "I'm also a licensed mortician, a licensed plumber, and I can even do your taxes. Although, I probably shouldn't, because I'm not licensed for that."

"Alan," Uncle Horace turned to me, beaming proudly. "Thank you for coming through as my best man. You're like the nephew I always wanted…to force to pretend to be my son."

I smiled, grateful for the rare compliment, and hugged my uncle tightly. Oliver, on the other hand, looked so nervous for a moment I was concerned he might drop. Then, the music began to play and everyone stood up as Dani stepped out of the curtains, carrying a bouquet of flowers in her hands. She walked the length of the aisle and stepped up onto the stage, choosing to squeeze in between Oliver and I, as her mother began to walk down the aisle herself.

** Kaz's POV **

"That's the last one, I'm pretty sure." Alivia announced, dumping the contents of the final box onto the ground. Unfortunately, we still hadn't found the Arcturion.

"Where's the Arcturion?" Skylar questioned, confused.

"I don't know." I admitted. "But we have to search the rest of the hotel."

"Wait!" Alivia stopped us, pulling a pyramid-shaped present out from under the pile of already opened gifts. We must have missed it. "This must be it."

She tore open the wrapping paper, but all it was underneath was a bun pan sitting in a transparent, plastic pyramid-shaped box. "A bun pan?"

"I got them the same thing." Skylar sighed in disappointment.

** Alan's POV **

"Welcome everyone!" Gus declared once everyone was sitting again. "My name is Gus, and I'll be officiating this wedding today."

To everyone's surprise, Gus then pulled off his jacket and tie, revealing a black and white striped referee shirt underneath. We all stared at him as he put on a white baseball cap, the blew into a whistle.

"What are you doing?" Uncle Horace demanded.

"Officiating." Gus replied. "Let's make this quick, because after this, I need to officiate a pee-wee football game. Now," he cleared his throat, drawing his attention back to the crowd of people who'd been invited, "I'm honored to be here today to bring together two families: Bridget, and her children, Oliver and Dani, and Horace and his son, Alan."

"Alan's not his son." Suddenly, one of the guests stood up. I stared in shock, recognizing him as Nelson Gonzales, my actual father. "He's my son."

But I thought he didn't know I was his son; hell, he wasn't even supposed to know that I existed. Uncle Horace said he'd erased Nelson's memory after our last visit.

"Horace, what is that man wearing a suit that looks like he found it in a dumpster talking about?" Bridget demanded, turning on Horace.

"I have no idea." Uncle Horace told her. "But I'll take care of it. Alan, would you mind coming with me?"

He didn't really give me or Nelson a choice, grabbing us both by the wrists and dragging us all the way up to the hotel room. "Nelson, how could you?" He demanded once we were inside. "You interrupted my wedding, put Alan in danger – who opened all my gifts?"

Indeed, everyone one of the presents in the room had been opened, or the wrapping torn off. "Ooh! Somebody gave me the bun pan in a pyramid-shaped box I registered for!"

"Uncle Horace, I want to know what's going on." I looked at my uncle, confused. "How did Nelson fin out he was my dad?"

"Alan, I have always known I was your father." Nelson told me, sitting down on the couch and motioning for me to do the same. I looked at him, frowning and not moving.

"I don't understand. If you know, then why didn't you take care of me, or teach me how to throw a ball? I mean, look at this." I grabbed a toy football of the ground and attempted to throw it towards the door. As usual, the ball slipped from my grasp and fell backwards.

"No need to dwell on the past." Uncle Horace told me. "What we need to do is get back to my wedding."

"No!" I protested. As he and Nelson tried to leave, I used my telekinesis to drag one of the large dressers in front of the doors, blocking their escape. "No one's going anywhere, and since I have the wedding rings, the ceremony can't continue without me."

I deserved an explanation for all of this: why did my father abandon me if he knew I was out there? Why did Uncle Horace keep this from me? They owed me that, and they owed me for an entire lifetime of lies. "I don't want any excuses! What I want if for you to make up for the last 15 years I spent without a dad, right now!"

"Fifteen years? Alan, please." Uncle Horace begged me. Huh, I'd never heard him beg before. "We barely have fifteen minutes."

"I'll take it." I'd take any time with my father, at this point. "One minute for every year of my life. I'll start as a one year old."

** Oliver's POV **

The entire time Horace was gone, I couldn't keep my eyes off my mother, as if I expected her to suddenly grow a devil's tail or something. Dani wasn't much better, unable to stay still as she bounced slightly on her feet.

"Oh, this is ridiculous." Mom muttered after a long moment. She hiked up her dress and began to storm off the stage. "I'm going to find Horace."

"We know who you are." Dani spoke up suddenly, her voice soft by clear. Mom turned around, a confused smile on her face.

"And I know who you are. You are my beautiful, strong but somewhat naïve daughter Danica, and you are my handsome, brilliant, but somewhat underachieving son Oliver." She assured us before beginning to walk away.

"I'm also Quimby Fletcher."

A large part of me hoped that she wouldn't react to the name, that she wouldn't know who that was and this was all a big misunderstanding. But another part of me knew, and wasn't at all surprised when she stared at me with an expression of shock and horror on her face. "What?" She demanded. I grabbed her by the wrist, and pulled her back onto the stage with Dani and I.

"We know everything." Dani told her, speaking quickly in an attempt to keep herself from becoming emotional. "Kaz, Ollie, and I, we work at Mighty Med, for Horace."

"How could you be Mr. Terror?" I demanded. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jaime perk up, having heard that bit of the conversation. She didn't approach us, but whispered something to Spotlight, then left the room in a hurry. Probably going to go get Liv, I figured. "How?"

She didn't answer at first. "Tell us!" I demanded, my voice shaking.

"Fine." Mom sighed. "Thirteen years ago, I was reviewing some top-secret files at work, and I discovered that superheroes were real, and that my boss was actually a supervillain named Argento. He'd been trying to find the Arcturion for years, and when I confronted him about it, he said if I told anyone, he would destroy you."

"So you kept quiet." I murmured. She bit her lip worriedly.

"I tried to tell your father, you know. And Argento found out." She looked at Dani lovingly. "He sent one of his minions after you on one of your school field trips to prove a point."

"That day at the pier." Dani realized, remembering it. Despite the fact that it had been years ago, we all still remembered it well – after all, it was the day we met Kaz. Some stranger had accidently knocked my 4-year old sister off the pier on a field trip, and Kaz's oldest brother, Kenny, pulled her out of the water before she could drown. "Wait, so that guy…it wasn't an accident?"

"No, it wasn't." Mom's gaze turned hard. "I couldn't let anything like that happen again, so I eliminated Argento, and then I took over his empire so that no one could ever threaten you again."

"You murdered him?" I stared at her, shocked. My mother, a murder?

"I did it all for you two." She told us gently. "To create a world where I have total control, so I can protect you."

"You don't need to protect us. We need to protect you, from yourself, and that's why I can never let you get your hands on the Arcturion." I told her.

Past her, I saw Kaz, Skylar, Alivia, and Jaime run back into the room. They stopped to speak with Gus for a moment, then Kaz looked at us. "Dee! Oliver! Grab that gift!" He pointed at a pyramid shaped gift on top of the gift table. "We have to return it to the store…in the sun!"

Mom, Dani, and I all looked at each other, then raced for the present. I got their right after my mom did, but was able to wrestle the gift away from her. "No, Oliver!" Mom protested.

"Mom, could you just forget about this whole thing, and go back to being our mother? Please!" I retorted, looking back at her. Suddenly, I ran into something big. Looking forwards, I stumbled backwards as Slaughter Master advanced on me. He snatched the gift-wrapped Arcturion out of my hands.

"At last! Ultimate power is mine!" He proclaimed. Skylar raced forward and kicked the Arcturion out of his hands. Unfortunately, Nightstrike caught it, a smirk on his face.

"Mine!" Jaime declared, charging after her nemesis. She blasted him in the chest, knocking the Arcturion out of his hands and onto the ground. He tried to his her with his bo staff, but the blonde-haired girl grabbed it with both hands and, using her unnatural strength, threw him across the room. She winced sympathetically when he knocked one of the guests out on his seat. "Sorry!"

The guests, at least the ones who weren't' superheroes, began to scream and panic, their desperate attempts to escape the hotel room causing a stampede. More villains began to show up, including the Incinerator, Soul Slayer, Sonic Shriek, the Ambusher, and the henchmen from earlier. However, they weren't the only ones here.

Blue Tornado, Solar Flare, Gamma Girl, Spark, Spotlight, Geminus, and Clone Master was all there, ready to fight and protect the civilians, and by now, more heroes were on their way. "Geminus, Spotlight, Gamma Girl! You three keep the civilians from harm." Clone Master, easily the most experienced of the heroes in the room, ordered. "Blue Tornado, Solar Flare, Spark, and I will take the villains."

"But, Dad!" Alivia protested, wanting to help.

"That's an order, Gem!" He didn't give her a chance to argue, instead splitting into five versions of himself and charging at Slaughter Master. Surprisingly, Alivia immediately disobeyed his orders and grabbed one of the wooden chairs. She lifted it above her head and swung it at the henchmen's back. He turned around, uninjured, and tried to punch her, but she dropped to the ground, not only avoiding the punch, but allowed the villain to punch Sonic Shriek in the face instead.

"I love weddings." Spotlight joked as he and Gamma Girl urged the civilians to get behind them.

** Alan's POV **

"Thanks, Dad." I smiled at Nelson as we sat amongst the piles of pillows and blankets. Near the door, Uncle Horace looked bored out of his mind, but I paid him no attention. "Eight-year-old me loves pillow forts, and pillow farts."

"I wish you could have known your grandpa." Nelson smiled back. "Boy, could he pillow fart."

"Look, Bridget's waiting." Uncle Horace looked at me pleadingly. "You've had a full eight minutes of father-son bonding. Isn't that enough?"

"No!" I jumped to my feet, looking at him. How could he be so selfish? "I spent an entire childhood without a dad, and now you want me to give up the last seven minutes?"

"Alan…" Uncle Horace tried, but I wasn't having it.

"I hate you! You're ruining my life!" I shouted, angry and hurt, before running into the bedroom and slamming the door shut behind me.

** Oliver's POV **

I watched the fight going on with interest, trying to keep my focus on Alivia, Skylar, and Jaime to make sure they were okay, but there was so much going on that it was hard to not get distracted.

Clone Master was fighting Slaughter Master, using all five of his duplicates to overpower the giant man. One particularly hard punch to his gut made him drop the Arcturion. Nightstrike raced to pick it up, but Jaime was all over him, fending him off with short, powerful bursts of electricity.

"We need to get that Arcturion." Kaz looked at us before breaking free of the group and racing right into the fight.

"Damn it, Kaz." I muttered before Dani and I raced out after him. He ducked past fighting villains and heroes alike, trying to reach the Arcturion that was lying near Solar Flare's feet. The Incinerator got there seconds before him, scooping up the Arcturion in one hand and holding the other one out threateningly. But before she could attack, a large glass decorative ball hit her right in the back of her head, shattering as it knocked her unconscious. "Who…" I turned to see Barry holding another glass ball in his hands, standing several feet away, with a large group of people between him and his target. "Nice shot!"

"Well, I'm not captain of the basketball, archery, and ultimate Frisbee teams for no reason!" He replied with a cocky laugh. I went to grab the Arcturion, but Soul Slayer took it from me before I could. Blue Tornado reacted quickly, using his powers to create a mini-cyclone that sent the Arcturion flying from the villain's hands.

It landed in the center of the stage, completely surrounded by villains. Every single villain in the room lunged for it, resulting in a dogpile on the stage. "Mr. Quick!" Alivia shouted, grabbing the rope for the curtains and tossing it into the air. The speedster caught it and raced around the villains at light speed, tying them all up before they even knew what was happening. Queen Hornet then stepped in to use her stingers to render them unconscious. Skylar smirked and walked up to them, taking the Arcturion out of Nightstrike's limp hands.

"Good work." Clone Master told everyone, though he gave Alivia a stern look for disobeying him. He turned to the other heroes. "Take these villains to Mighty Max prison, then gather up all the guests and erase their memory of the past hour."

"It's going to be hilarious watching them try to figure out where they parked." Kaz commented, walking up to us. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Barry slip out the front, avoiding being taken with the rest of the guests to get his memory erased.

"Indeed." Clone Master agreed, cracking a smile. He looked past us. "I'll give you a few minutes." He told us before leading most of the other heroes out.

"Oliver, Danica." We looked to see Spotlight bringing our mother over, ready to transport her to Mighty Max. "You know I don't belong in prison with those thugs. I'm your mother; I love you."

"We love you too, Mom." Dani told her. I nodded.

"But we're sorry." I took the Arcturion from Skylar. "Your reign as Mr. Terror is over. The Arcturion is safe in my hands."

This was the best solution I could think of. If Mom was in prison, she couldn't use the Arcturion to hurt anyone, even if her motives were good ones, and we could still go and see her sometimes.

Suddenly, Mort leapt out from behind the curtains and attacked Spotlight, hitting him in the back of the head with his elbow. The heavy blow knocked the hero to the ground, dazed. Mom took advantage of our surprise and stole the Arcturion away from me.

"And now it's safe in my hands!" She declared, tearing away the wrapping paper. Mort looked at me, then at her.

"So you're Mr. Terror? And you've been trying to get me to knock off your own son?" He questioned. "And I thought my family was dysfunctional."

"Finally." Mom smiled, her face illuminated by the glowing of the Arcturion sphere. "Absolute power is mine."

"We have to stop her." Alivia announced, about to race in and attack.

"Liv, that's our mother." Dani stopped her. She looked at me. "Our mom, our responsibility."

"You're right." I agreed. I looked at my mother, hoping that I could maybe talk some sense into her. "Mom, don't do this."

"Please, Mom." Dani added. There were tears of desperation in the corners of her eyes. Mom looked at us for a long moment, then twisted the top of the pyramid. The glass wall facing us opened and she placed her hand inside, gripping the Arcturion Sphere. Energy burst from the sphere, going through my mother, turning her veins purple. "No!"

Kaz, Dani, and I all reached out at the same time, grabbing for Mom's arm in an attempt to rip it away from the artifact, but a burst of energy rocketed through us. It sent us flying through the air. I felt the air rush from me when we crashed into a pile of chairs, every one of my muscles aching and screaming in protest. I sat up just in time to see my mother collapse, and the Arcturion pyramid roll out of her hands.

"No!" I shouted, scrambling to my feet.

"Mom?" Dani got there at the same time as I did, kneeling by our mother, her eyes examining her. "Mom?"

"We're losing her." I realized, checking her pulse. Kaz had told me that no mortal could survive contact with the Arcturion. "No, no, no."

"Horace." Dani looked up at Kaz. "We need him. If she…he's got his last remaining Caduceo power to bring her back!"

"But she'd still have the energy of the Arcturion inside her, and she'd be an unstoppable villain, which is bad because she hates me." Kaz reminded us. In all the commotion, I just noticed now that Mort was gone, having abandoned his leader.

"What if we suck the power out of her?" Alivia suggested. "Hapax drained the evil out of Skylar. He can probably do the same for Bridget."

"Good idea." I agreed.

"Let's go, Oliver." Skylar encouraged.

"No." Dani shook her head. "We need to stay here, with our mom."

"Okay." Kaz nodded sympathetically at us. "Skylar, Liv, and I will go through the wormhole transporter and find Hapax on Caldera."

** Alan's POV **

"Alan, come out here!" My Uncle Horace shouted, losing his patience. "You're acting like a fifteen year old who's acting like a fourteen year old!"

"No." I refused, sitting at the bottom of the door and leaning my head against it. "These past few minutes of childhood were the best. Why couldn't Nelson have been there for real and teach me how to be a better Normo?"

There was a pause, then Nelson himself spoke up. "Alan, I think it's time you found out why I couldn't be there for you." Suddenly, the door behind me dissipated, turning to dust before my eyes. I scrambled to my feet, shocked. "It's because I'm the superhero Optimo. I couldn't let anyone know that you were my son because my nemesis, Razor Claw, would have destroyed you."

I stared at him, everything suddenly making sense to me. Why Uncle Horace had to lie, why my mother sent me away to live with my uncle in the first place – it was all for my own protection. "Wait, so you mean, I'm not a Normo?" I let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness! I spent the whole last year trying to be one. I didn't like it."

Nelson held his arms out and I hugged him tightly. Wow, what a difference this made. I had a father, I wasn't a Normo…it felt incredible.

"You couldn't have just told him you were Optimo?" Uncle Horace complained. "The hotel's going to charge me a fortune for that door."

"I'll pay for it." I offered. They both looked at me suspiciously.

"With what money?" Uncle Horace questioned.

"With all the years of allowance that I never got." I smirked at my dad. "You owe me $20,000."

"Splendid then!" Uncle Horace clapped his hands together, pleased with how things turned out. "What a wonderful day! You two have patched things up, and I'm off to marry a beautiful woman!"

** Kaz's POV **

"Okay, I've got the wormhole transporter!" I announced, rushing straight to the counter in the ER when we reached Mighty Med.

"Atmosphere regulators." Alivia handed me one, then pressed the small, circular device to her arm. "Ready?"

"Maybe this is a bad idea." Skylar worried. "We don't have time for this. What if Hapax isn't in his cave? Or he refuses to come with us because he's sick? Or slow-roasting a turkey? They require constant basting!"

"Stop worrying. It won't take long." I assured her before turning on the wormhole transporter.

** Xxx **

"I stand corrected. That took forever." I commented as we reappeared back in Mighty Med, Hapax by our sides.

"Don't worry." The alien told us. "What took you sixteen hours on Caldera only took two seconds on Earth. When you travel through a wormhole, time-space for the traveler expands at a different rate than relative to a fixed observer on Earth."

"Are we still in a wormhole?" I questioned, annoyed. "Because that explanation also took forever."

"Let's just get back to Oliver and Dani's mom." Skylar suggested, heading for the door.

"Now, this is your first time back on Earth in 30 years." Alivia told Hapax as we headed through the exit and towards the street. "I have to warn you, things have changed a lot."

"Oh, I have basic cable." Hapax assured her. "I'm all caught up."

** Oliver's POV **

I checked my mom's pulse again, frowning when I noticed it getting weaker. Chances were, she was going to die before Kaz got back, but I was confident that Horace would give up his last Caduceo power to save her life.

I glanced at my sister. Dani hadn't said anything since Kaz, Skylar, and Alivia left, not even when Spotlight, having only woken up a couple of minutes ago, questioned her on what had happened, not even when I sent him to go after Mort. She was just sitting on the steps of the stage, her knees pulled up to her chest, and her gaze locked on our mom's still body.

"Dee?" I murmured gently, moving to sit next to her. She'd always been the more emotional of the two of us, so I was genuinely surprised that she wasn't completely freaking out yet. Unless going quiet was her way of freaking out. When she didn't respond, I put my hand on her shoulder. "Hey."

"Oh, hey." She glanced at me, then back at Mom.

"Everything's going to be okay." I promised her. She looked at me, and shook her head.

"If this works, Mom goes to prison for…forever, maybe, and then what happens to us? Dad left ages ago, and he hasn't answered any of our calls since last year. Where will we go?" She bit her lip worriedly. "We're going to lose everything, Ollie."

"We'll still have each other." I reminded her. "And Kaz."

She laughed lightly at that. "The three of us against the world?"

"The way it's always been." I agreed. She laid her head against my shoulder, just as her phone beeped. She pulled it out of her purse. "You kept yours?"

"We just found out Mom was evil. I wasn't going to give up my only way of calling for help." She cleared her throat and checked the text message. "'On our way with Hapax, get Horace'." She read aloud.

"Let's go." I told her. Dani nodded and climbed to her feet. She headed straight for the backdoor – it would be easier to take the elevator in the back than take the stairs, seeing as my sister was in heels – while I hung back for a moment.

"Mom, I'm going to get Horace." I told her, even though I knew she couldn't hear me. "I think he can save you. I know the real you is still in there. I love you, Mom. We both do."

Then I raced after my sister, heading for the hotel room.

** Alan's POV **

Something was wrong. That was immediately obvious the moment we stepped onto the first floor. The music was gone, as well as every one of the guests. The hall was even worse – it looked like a war zone. Chairs laid broken across the ground, the tables for gifts were overturned, and presents were torn and broken. And in the middle of it, lying on the stage, was Bridget.

"Bridget! Darling!" Horace raced over to her.

"What happened?" Nelson demanded, looking around.

"Uncle Horace, is she alright?" I asked as he examined his bride.

"She's gone." He murmured. He sat there for a moment, shell-shocked. Then he stood up. "Do not worry, my love. I'll will save you!"

He raised his hands and I recognized what he was going to do. "But, Uncle Horace, that's your last Caduceo power! You'll never be able to save anyone again."

"Who better to use it on than Bridget?" He retorted. "She is the kindest, most angelic creature in the universe."

He raised his hands to the sky, and started channeling the power of Caduceo. "Thanatoi bios!" He shouted, drawing energy from the heavens. Blue energy flowed downwards, through him and into Bridget. "Bioi Thanatos!"

"She's alive!" I gasped as Bridget slowly sat up, blinking heavily.

"And she's evil." At the sound of Oliver's voice, I turned to see him, Dani, Kaz, Skylar, Geminus, Spark, and a short guy in a hood standing by the door.

** Oliver's POV **

When we couldn't find Horace, Dani and I had decided to go back to the wedding hall, to see if maybe Jaime had seen him. Unfortunately, by time we got down there and asked her, Horace had already entered the wedding hall. Kaz, Skylar, Alivia, and Hapax reached us just as we walked into the hall. But it was too late – Horace had already brought my mother back from the dead. Mom stood up slowly, looking over us and I flinched, seeing a wild look in her eyes.

However, Horace was completely oblivious to it. "Oliver, I know she makes you wear a life jacket in the bathtub, but I'd hardly call that evil." He rolled his eyes at me, then turned to my mother. "Are you alright, pookie-bear? How are you feeling?"

"How am I feeling?" She repeated before smirking. "To answer your question, Horace, I'd say I'm feeling pretty good."

"What is going on, Bridget?" Horace demanded, confused. My mother's smirk grew.

"Please, call me Mr. Terror." She announced. Horace looked shocked, recognizing the name. "And everything is going according to plan!" She laughed. "I knew if I touched the Arcturion, it would give me ultimate power, but would destroy me in the process."

"So you manipulated me into falling in love with you so I would use my Caduceo power to bring you back to life?" Horace questioned, hurt. Mom nodded, smiling widely.

"Yes, and now I'm the most powerful being on the planet!" She exclaimed. She leapt into the air, suddenly able to fly, and flew out an open window.

"C'mon!" Alivia shouted, racing towards the backdoor. We were right behind her, following her out onto the street. Mom stood on the bridge, glaring at something off of it. She raised her hand and threw a ball of pure energy down into the street below, destroying a car.

"Teach you to leave your car running with no one in it!" She shouted. "Don't you care about the environment?"

"Mom, stop it!" Dani begged her. "Please! You have to!"

"I told you, dear." Mom looked at her gently. "I'm doing this all for you."

"We need to do something before she gets away." Skylar said, looking at us. Nelson, Alan's dad, stepped out from behind us.

"I'll take it from here." He announced. He began to spin very fast, just like Blue Tornado did, until his clothes had changed into a grey, armored suit with an O on the chest plate. He looked at my mom, unimpressed. "Sorry to crash your wedding."

He rushed at her, going at least 400 mph, but Mom was prepared for it; she caught his arm as he neared her and used her newfound super strength to fling him over her shoulder and towards a building a couple of blocks over. She threw him with so much power that not only did he actually reach the building, but he also destroyed the top corner of it completely.

"DAD!" Alan shouted in horror before tearing off in the direction. Mom turned back to us.

"Anyone else want to challenge me?" She questioned.

"Yes." Kaz nodded before pushing Alivia and Jaime out in front. Both girls sent him a glare, but then turned to face my mom.

"Stand down." Alivia advised, splitting into three versions of herself. "We don't want to hurt you."

"Well, that makes one of us." Jaime muttered. She held her hands out in front of her, creating a ball of pure electrical energy. She shot it at my mom before racing towards her, obviously hoping that she could catch my mother off guard by sending that first attack. However, Mom caught the ball of electricity in hands with ease, and, after boosting its power, used it against Jaime, hitting her square in the chest with it.

"Jaime!" All of the Alivias shouted, but before any of them could react, Mom sent a ball of energy, twice the size of Jaime's, right at them. Two of them managed to get away, but the one on the left was hit, knocking her down and out.

The two remaining duplicates charged at my mom, but she was ready for them. Mom grabbed one of them by the leg when she tried to do a mid-air spinning kick, and used Alivia's own momentum to swing the red-head hero into the other one. One of the Alivias went flying, falling right off the bridge, while the other was thrown harshly into one of the bridge's poles.

"Liv!" Dani cried, shocked. There was no way that duplicate survived, but from what Alivia had told us of her powers, so long as she, the original Geminus, was still alive and conscious, then she would survive. So, no matter what happened to the other duplicates, she would be okay. Thankfully, it appeared that the Alivia still with us was the original. But, judging by the way she was gasping for breath and had curled up around one of her legs, I knew she was down for the count.

Mom glanced at her, then at Jaime who was stumbling over to her girlfriend, but didn't seem to consider them a threat. "Is that it?" My mother demanded.

"Step aside." I looked to see Hapax step out from behind us. He looked at my mother, then raised his hands to drain her powers. She disappeared before our eyes, then reappeared seconds later, just behind Hapax. Before he could do anything about it, however, my mother used telekinesis to send him crashing into a nearby car.

"Well, this has been fun," Mom looked at us. "But this was only step one in my plan to conquer the world. Danica, Oliver, you are welcome to join me."

"Join you?" Dani repeated, staring at her. I was equally shocked. She just…she just attacked our friends, admitted to be planning on conquering the world, and she wanted us to join her?

"No. Never." I retorted. Dani nodded.

"I can't do that." She agreed with me. Mom looked briefly disappointed, then shook her head.

"Too bad." Mom sighed before flying away. We watched her go for a moment before we remembered the others.

"Crap, Liv!" Dani exclaimed, racing over to the two girls alongside Kaz, while Skylar and I went to check on Hapax.

** Xxx **

"I hate casts." Alivia pouted, glaring at the stark white plaster cast around her right leg.

"Yeah, well, with the way your cells duplicate themselves, you'll be all healed up in about a month." I assured her, sitting on the edge of her bed. Thankfully, no one had been too badly injured. Jaime had a bad concussion, Alivia had a broken leg and dislocated ankle, Nelson had a number of cracked ribs, and Hapax was mainly just bruised and beaten. Those weren't fun injuries, but I couldn't help but feel that my mom went easy on them.

"I can't believe Mom's evil." Dani commented, sitting on top of the ER counter, her hands smoothing out her dress. Most of the heroes were back here for the time being, but unlike the rest of them, none of us bothered to change out of our clothes for the wedding. Though I did see Dani's heels sitting in a trash can near the entrance.

"I know." I agreed. Mom, evil and on the run. I never would have thought this possible, even in the worst of nightmares.

"How can my darling Bridget do something so terrible?" Horace cried. "And on a bridge, no less!"

"Hello Alan." Dani greeted the black-haired boy as he walked into the room. He nodded at her, then went straight over to Nelson's hospital bed, which sat next to Alivia's.

"I'm so glad you're alright." He told his father. Nelson smiled at him appreciatively.

"Thanks, son." He replied. "I'm sorry, again, that I lied to you."

"It's okay, Dad. I lie all the time." Alan assured him. Alivia looked over at Nelson.

"He really does." She agreed.

Kaz chose that moment to wheel Hapax over to us. "Hey, that guy looks familiar." Alan frowned, not realizing that he looked familiar due to the fact that they could be identical twins. "And he's so handsome."

Nelson stared at Hapax. "Dad?" He questioned after a long moment.

"Hello, son." Hapax greeted him. I almost chuckled – that would explain why Hapax and Alan looked so much alike.

"Wait." Kaz frowned and looked as if he was thinking hard about something. "So you're Alan's father, and Hapax is your father, so that means that Hapax is…"

"Alan's grandfather." Skylar supplied.

"I would have gotten that!" He snapped at her before walking over to Dani. I sighed and walked over to them, giving Alan, Nelson, and Hapax some privacy.

"We have to figure out a way to stop my mom and turn her not evil." I told them. Dani frowned.

"You think that's possible? I mean, it's not like with Skylar, Ollie. Mom wasn't infected with evilness or anything like that." She told me, looking disheartened.

"We'll figure it out." I told her. I wasn't going to give up on my family.

"We will, I promise." Skylar told me. She looked at me, concern in her pretty brown eyes. "You okay?" She held out her arms. "Do you want a hug?"

I was about to accept when Horace pushed past me, holding onto Skylar tightly. "I really do." He began to cry. "Thank you Skylar."

She hugged him back awkwardly. Kaz chuckled and, after helping Dani down from the counter, said, "I got you, buddy. Bring it in."

He pulled us both in for a hug. Then, suddenly, the strangest thing happened.

The floor disappeared beneath our feet. And I don't mean that the floor suddenly was destroyed, or magically vanished. The three of us floated into the air, hovering about two feet off the ground.

"What the hell…" Dani muttered, looking down.

"Do we-do we have powers?" Kaz gasped, ecstatic. I thought about it.

"When we touched my mom while she was holding the Arcturion, we must have absorbed some of its energy." I realized. Kaz laughed in amazement.

"I did it! I finally have powers!" He exclaimed.

"Are you kidding me?!" Skylar demanded, glaring at us. Oh, right. Maybe we shouldn't brag about it. She stormed off, clearly upset. Oh well – I'd try to make it up to her later.

"Something weird is going on…" Horace approached us, frowning. "Boys, did you two switch shirts?"

"They're floating." Alivia pointed out. Horace shook his head.

"No, that's not it." He replied. I chuckled, then glanced at the ground.

"Okay, let's get down." I suggested.

"We could do that." Dani agreed. Then she smiled, that little, wild, reckless smile of hers. "Or…"

** Xxx **

"THIS IS AWESOME!" Kaz shouted at the top of his lungs as we flew over the city. I had to admit, this was without a doubt the coolest thing that had ever happened to me.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Dani exclaimed suddenly. She held her hand out in front of us. "Commemorative fake photo!" She held the non-existant camera out in front of us. "Say superheroes on three. One…two…three!"


	16. Childhood's End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this story doesn't have any warnings, but that was because the only warnings that would apply would only apply to this chapter, so I'm including the warning here: there is a major character death in this chapter. This chapter covers the destruction of Mighty Med, and is a little graphic towards the end, but nothing too serious. You have been warned.

** Dani's POV **

"Well, that was a bust." Skylar commented as we walked back into Mighty Med. The six of us – her, Kaz, Ollie, Spotlight, Jaime, and I – had just gotten back from Sudbury, where there had been reports of a super powered individual matching my mother's description. We'd all gone out to check them out, and perhaps bring her back with us, but to everyone's disappointment, and relief in some cases, the reports had been falsified. Likely one of my mother's minions trying to get us off her real trail.

"I don't get it." The blonde turned to Skylar and Spotlight. "Why is she in hiding? It doesn't make sense."

"She's right." Spotlight agreed as we all dumped our stuff – a couple of overnight bags with some of the more helpful tools that could be found at Mighty Med. "She just a motherload of power…" He glanced at Ollie and I. "Wrong choice of words."

"It's fine." Ollie told him. I rolled my eyes. Ever since Mom went on the run, the others had been treating my brother and I like we were glass – fragile and easily breakable. Even Horace, who had insisted that Ollie and I stay with him at Mighty Med for the time being, was walking on eggshells around us. The word 'Mother' had practically become taboo around here, and anytime our Mom was mentioned, they purposefully used 'Mr. Terror' rather than 'Bridget', as if they thought it would make things easier on us.

It wasn't helping. I know that they thought that it was, and maybe Ollie and I let them believe that, but things were still rough. I mean, between school (I was totally up for just ditching it, but Ollie maintained that we should have some normalcy in our lives), and discovering new and hard control powers, our duties at Mighty Med, and everything else that was going on, things were building up. Already, Ollie had flunked a couple of tests (I did too, but that was hardly abnormal for me), I'd lost the archery nationals (to Barry of all people), and a couple of days ago, we'd had a medical emergency that just went wrong. I mean, the guy was still alive and stuff, but some irreparable damage had been done, and his sons, after discovering what had happened, actually had to be dragged out by security after one of them attacked Ollie. All in all, the past couple of weeks had been pretty sucky.

"I'll tell Barry to keep looking at those reports, see if he can find us anything else." Skylar offered.

"Right, good." I nodded, before looking at Jaime. "So, when is…" I smirked at Spotlight. "…Geminus supposed to be back from her meeting with the League of Heroes?"

"In a couple hours." Jaime replied. Skylar frowned.

"Any idea why they wanted to talk to her?" She questioned. Jaime shook her head.

"Geminus didn't know," she replied, glancing at Spotlight with a small smile, "but you know what I think? I think they're finally going to promote her from sidekick to superhero."

"Geminus would love that." Kaz commented. Spotlight groaned in frustration.

"Will someone please tell me her actual name?" He requested. That earned a few scheming grins. He'd been trying for the past two weeks to guess her name, but to no avail. "Seriously, I'll pay you."

"No, this is too much fun." Skylar told him, smirking.

"But I'll give you a hint for ten bucks." I offered. He considered it, then pulled ten bucks out of his pocket and handed it to me. I grinned. "Her name does not begin with the letter Q."

"You suck." Spotlight told me, plucking the bill from my hands.

"Well, she didn't say the hint would be helpful." Kaz chuckled. Skylar rolled her eyes.

"Well, when she gets back, she can help give you guys more training for your powers." She told us, serious. "Kaz, you need to work on your aim. That fireball of yours nearly took my head off when we were training earlier."

"How do you know I wasn't trying to do that?" My boyfriend challenged.

"Alright guys, take a chill pill." Spotlight advised.

"I'm sure you weren't, right Kaz?" Ollie questioned. Kaz grumbled something inaudible, but didn't retort. "So, you guys are coming to the party later, right?"

"Uh, let's see. It's Mighty Med's 250th anniversary. Every superhero in the universe is coming." Spotlight looked at my brother like he was crazy. "Including all the hot babes. Of course I'm coming."

"You know, it'd be really refreshing if you didn't always think about girls and how many of them you can score." Jaime commented, shaking her head. "But yes, we'll both be there. As he said, everyone is going to be there."

"Cool." Despite myself, I was actually excited for the party. We'd spent the last couple of weeks searching for my mom, non-stop, and even though I knew that should be our number one priority, we could all use a break. And maybe something up-beat and cheerful as a party was exactly what we all needed to lift our spirits.

Then suddenly, I remembered something. "Oh, crap! I forgot to tell you guys! Guess what?"

They all looked at me. "You won the lottery?" Kaz guessed, obviously trying to get me to laugh. My smile widened.

"Guess who discovered another power?" I smirked.

** Kaz's POV **

So, ever since we all got the ability to fly, Oliver, Dani, and I had all been discovering new powers, usually by accident. All of them were pretty cool, though many of them were hard to control. Still, I wasn't about to start complaining.

So far, I only had two powers. Flight was the first one, but I figured out that, just like Solar Flare, I had pyrokinesis. That hadn't been very fun to discover – somehow, I managed to light my desk on fire at school, and without anyway to properly excuse the action to the new principal, I'd been suspended for a month.

Oliver had the most powers so far – a grand total of four. Him having ice powers, the exact opposite of me kinda made sense, but when he busted out his newfound super strength the other day, lifting a 10,000 lbs. dumbbell to try and impress Skylar, it seemed a little unfair. Though I didn't begrudge him for the last ability. Twin telepathy sounded cool in the comic books, but ever since Dani and Oliver had realized that they could literally read each other's minds, they'd been even more crabbier with each other. The fact that they shared everything now, from a bedroom to each other's thoughts, was really driving them nuts.

"Okay, check it out." Dani grinned and spread her hands apart. Nothing happened.

"Dani?" Oliver looked at her, frowning.

"Give me a sec." She retorted. "Honestly, I'm not entirely sure how I did it the first time, but I thin-ooh! Look!"

She beamed happily as a ball of electricity appeared between her hands. It was really small, about the size of a baseball, but she looked so damn proud of herself, and I hadn't seen her smile that happily in a while. "Way to go, Dee!" I exclaimed, maybe a little too enthusiastically.

"Impressive." Jaime agreed, looking over the ball with intrigue. "No, seriously. I think that's bigger than my first lightning ball when I started out."

"So, Kaz has got pyrokinesis, Dani's got electrokinesis, and Oliver's got cryokinesis?" Spotlight hummed. "Sounds…poetic."

"Ew, poetry." I wrinkled my nose in disgust. "No thanks."

"Okay, Jaime, one question." Dani laughed nervously. "I'm also not entirely sure how to make it disappear."

"Here." Jaime sighed and reached out towards Dani. The blonde clasped the ball of electrical energy in two hands, then closed the hands together tightly. When she opened them up, the ball was gone. "I'll help you get the hang of that."

"Thanks." Dani smiled sheepishly.

"That was really good, Dani." We turned to see Alivia standing in the entrance, crutches under her arms. Her leg was still healing from her fight against Bridget, and despite the fact that Alivia hated it, her leg was still encased in a cast. Skylar, Spotlight, Dani, and I all wrote little messages on it, while Jaime had drawn a bunch of yellow and green hearts, and Oliver had drawn a pretty good image of a swan, Ireland's national animal.

"You're back." Jaime smiled and went straight up to Alivia, quickly pressing her lips to hers. "How was it?"

"You a superhero yet?" Spotlight asked the question we were all wondering.

"Not yet." Disappointingly, Alivia shook her head. "They wanted to report on what happened with…"

"With our mother." Oliver finished. He frowned. "Didn't you do that already?"

"They wanted to see if I had anything to add to my statement." She replied, shrugging. She looked at Dani. "Hey, can we talk?"

"Sure, what's up?" Dani asked. Alivia glanced at the rest of us.

"Um…in private." She added. Dani frowned, but nodded.

"Rec room?" She suggested. Alivia nodded and the girls headed down the hallway.

"Well, that didn't sound suspicious at all." Spotlight commented before Jaime elbowed him in the ribs.

** Dani's POV **

"So, how are things?" Alivia asked, slowly lowering herself onto the couch in the rec room. She placed the crutches next to her as she stretched her leg out. "And I mean it, Dani. The truth, no BS."

I sighed. "We're okay."

"Did I not just ask for the truth?" Alivia questioned.

"It is the truth." I insisted, taking a seat. "Do things suck right now? Yeah, they do, a lot. And does it hurt? Yeah. But Ollie and I, we aren't going to just break. We've got you, and Kaz, and Skylar, and everyone else to make sure we don't. Nothing's particularly great with us right now, but we are okay. And you guys need to realize that."

"Okay. I just had to be sure that you were okay, mentally, before…" She sighed, then looked me in the eye. "Dani, I've got a favor to ask of you."

"Anything, just name it." I replied. She hesitated.

"Don't agree so quickly." She advised. "Because you're not going to like what I'm going to propose, but I need you to do it for me."

I frowned. Damn, she was serious. "What's going on, Liv?"

** Kaz's POV **

"So, any idea what they're talking about?" I asked, referring to the girls. Oliver shrugged.

"Girl stuff? Or maybe Geminus is just checking in with her." He replied.

Over on the other side of the room, Jaime and Spotlight were chatting, the latter still trying to guess Alivia's real name. "No, Spotlight. Her name isn't Siobhan!" Jaime laughed, clearly enjoying the conversation.

"Yeah, about that…" I trailed off, not particularly sure how to approach the topic. I wasn't really great when it came to emotional stuff – that was usually Oliver's job, or Alivia, if he was the one who needed to talk – but after everything that happened with his mother, and then everything that's happened since then, I figured he needed to talk. "How's living at Mighty Med?"

Well, maybe not how I wanted to start the conversation, but hey, at least I started it.

"It sucks." Oliver admitted. "The showers are crappy, the beds are lumpy, and did you know that Dee's a total insomniac? She's up until, like, two in the morning either reading or playing on her phone. She's keeping me up."

I guessed that it wasn't the only thing keeping him up. "But how long are you going to be staying here for? Like what's the plan?"

"Well, Mom's going to jail, so we can't live with her. But we can't impose on Horace forever." Oliver sighed.

"I don't think he'd mind." I told him. "And you guys are always welcome to stay at our place."

"I think your mom would start to question where our Mom is after a week or so." He pointed out. "I think we'll eventually have to call our dad. Maybe."

"Maybe?" I repeated.

"He hasn't really been in contact with us since last year. I don't even think I know how to contact him." Oliver admitted. "Dee and I are seventeen now. We're almost adults. We might try and convince Horace to let us stay here for the year – he can take the boarding cost away from our paychecks or something – and then, once we're eighteen, we'll be considered adults and no one will be able to tell us where to live."

"Again, the offer still stands for my house." I told him just as Dani walked back into the ER. I frowned, noticing how stiff her movements were, and how Alivia was nowhere to be seen. "Hey, beautiful, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." She replied in a tone that told me that something was definitely wrong.

"Dee?" Oliver looked at her. "You sure? What did A-Geminus," he corrected, looking over at Spotlight, "want to talk about?"

"Nothing." Dani lied again. Jaime frowned, then excused herself to go find Alivia.

"Dani." Oliver pressed. His sister stopped, then looked at him.

"We talked and then we had a fight. Drop it." She warned us, her voice revealing how ticked off she was. Wow, that must have been one hell of a fight. "Seriously, I don't want to talk about it."

"Got it." "Dropping it." Oliver and I agreed. Spotlight frowned, thinking.

"Wait, is her name Alice?" He asked.

** Dani's POV **

Alivia and I still weren't speaking by time the party started, but I tried to push the fight from my mind. Deep down, I knew she was trying to do the right thing, but she had said some pretty cruel things in there, and what she had asked me to do was…it was something I just couldn't do. Eventually, I knew we'd get over this, but for now, I was perfectly fine with being pissed at her.

Meanwhile, the party was in full swing. Every hero I'd ever met, and even more that I'd never heard of, had showed up to celebrate 250 long years of incredible medical care. There was music – from this generation, thank God – and dancing, as well as food. There was even a four foot long cake, built up in the shape of the Golden Gate Bridge, likely just for Horace. I almost laughed when the man burst into tears of joy upon seeing the cake. Hell, even Alan, Nelson, and Hapax, who'd been away on a family bonding trip since the wedding, showed up to celebrate.

"Dani! Oliver!" Benny, my favorite of the nurses, broke through the crowd, rushing over to us. He skidded to a stop in front of us. "There's something you need to see."

** Xxx **

"Look." Benny led Skylar, Kaz, Ollie, Spotlight, and I into the rec room. He grabbed his laptop off the couch, then showed us the news report on it. "There was a break out at the USPEI."

"That's horrible." Skylar shook her head, before looking sharply at Benny. "What's the USPEI."

"United States' Prison for Enhanced Individuals." Spotlight explained. "You probably wouldn't have heard of it on Caldera."

"Prison for Enhanced Individuals?" I questioned, frowning.

"Well, not all villains end up in Mighty Max." Spotlight admitted. I looked at him, surprised. "Sometimes the regular police get to them first, and since we can't reveal ourselves to the world, the bad guys end up in this place. Usually, it's not so bad. About 95% of them are criminals who have either advanced natural talents, like super evil super geniuses, or they've gotten some sort of advancement from a scientist. I think there's a few bionic humans in there too."

"Okay, so there's a break out. Big deal." Kaz shrugged. "Call the police, or hand it off to Tecton or something."

"They caught one of the guys who was running the break out." Benny continued. He looked at us. "It was Mort."

"We're going." Ollie announced, leaning on the edge of the couch.

"I'll get some of the other heroes." Spotlight offered.

"No, don't." I stopped him. He frowned, confused. "Look, the fighting is all done. All we have to do is go in there, and talk to Mort. We don't need a bodyguard or a babysitter."

"Dani-" Skylar tried to intervene, but Ollie nodded in agreement.

"She's right. This is personal. This is our mom, we're talking about." He looked at everyone else. "This should be our responsibility to interrogate Mort."

"Not a word to anyone, Spotlight." Kaz looked pointedly at the hero.

"Not even to Jaime and Abby?" He asked.

"First of all, that's still not her name." I told him. He cursed, curling his hand into a fist. "And yeah, not even to them. Like I said, we don't need babysitters."

"So, just one question." Benny looked at us, curious. "How do you plan on getting into a secure government facility mere hours after they've had a major break out?"

Kaz grinned. "I have an idea."

** Kaz's POV **

"We are going to get caught so fast." Skylar muttered as we used the wormhole transporter to appear right in the middle of the USPEI building.

"Relax. No one will even know we're here." I told her, rolling my eyes. "Probably."

"Look, let's just find Mort, okay?" Oliver decided. He looked around. "So, anyone know the way?"

"I say we check random cells and hope we don't get caught." Dani declared. And so, that's what we did. Honestly, we probably should have gotten caught – I mean, four teenagers in a government building? So easy to be caught. But I guess with the recent break out, they had more important things to worry about.

"Found him!" Skylar called suddenly. She was standing in front of a small door at the end of the hall. We all ran in, paranoid that a guard was going to see us any moment. The cell was small and dark. Mort stood in the middle of the room, surrounded by bright, blue, energized bars. They appeared to be blocking his powers, as he had not made any attempt to escape. "Hello Mort."

"Oh, great. It's you four." Mort sneered at us. Oliver pushed past Skylar and approached the cell.

"Where's my mother?" He got straight to business. Mort smirked.

"And I would tell you?" He questioned. "Not a chance, kid."

"You will tell us." I told him. "Or you'll spend the rest of your life in a cell like this."

"As opposed to, what? Mighty Max?" Mort laughed darkly. "At least here, I have a chance to escape."

"Look, we just want you to answer a few questions for us." Skylar told the henchmen. "And we will have your prison sentence reduced. It's how long now?"

Mort paused, considering it. "It's seven years." He admitted. "I'll answer your questions if you bring it down to one."

"No one will go for that." Mighty Med doctors had a certain amount of influence over things like this, similar to the influence most heroes had, but that would be beyond our abilities. "We can get you five."

"Then I guess we don't have a deal." Mort replied, crossing his arms. Dani pushed past me.

"Fine. The hard way then." She grabbed the bars on the cell, and suddenly, all of them electrified. "Now, any time you touch the bars, you'll get zapped. That's not gonna be very easy to avoid, seeing as your cell is only a few feet wide."

Mort glanced at the bars nervously. "Do I need to electrify the bottom of the cell too?" Dani asked.

"Dee." I looked at her, concerned. She turned and gave me a wink, assuring me that she had no intention of going that far. Then she looked back at Mort.

"You have powers." Mort sneered, looking at us warily.

"Yeah, we do." Dani agreed. "And not just that, but we're Mr. Terror's own children, and I've been told that I can be a lot like my mother when I want to be. Want to test that out?"

That got Mort's attention. "I-I don't know where Mr. Terror is, I swear."

"Then what do you know?" Skylar questioned, crossing her arms.

"I'm just following orders." Mort told her.

"And what were they? Your orders?" Dani questioned.

"To break into this prison, cause a riot, and then get myself publicly captured to get your attention." Mort replied. "Your mother knew you'd be looking for her."

"And why the hell would she want us to come here?" I questioned, baffled. For a moment, I was suspicious. Was this a trap? Were we walking straight into hell fire or something?

"Mr. Terror's very connected in the villain world." Mort told us. "She heard that something was going down in Philadelphia concerning Mighty Med, and thought it would be best to get you out of there."

"I'm calling Horace." Skylar declared, reaching for her phone as she walked out of the cell.

"Why should we believe you?" Oliver questioned. Mort shrugged.

"Don't then. It's your heads. I couldn't care less." He replied. He snapped his fingers. "Now, miss. The bars?"

"No." Dani refused, instead increasing the power running through the bars. She paused, then turned to look at Ollie. He nodded at the bars and she pouted. "Fine. Whatever."

She touched the bars again, and the electricity running across the bars disappeared. "Let's go." I told her before leading her and Oliver out the door. The moment the door was closed, Oliver turned on his sister.

"What the hell was that?" He questioned. She looked at him, confused.

"What?" She questioned, confused.

"That! Threatening him, scare tactics…that wasn't like you." He accused.

"Dee, he's got a point." I agreed. She looked at us like we were idiots.

"He spent the last two months try to kill you, Oliver." She pointed. I winced at the use of his full name. Not a good sign. "And we need to find Mom, and take her down. So I'm not going to sit around and ask nicely."

"That wasn't right. We can't stoop to their levels." Oliver scolded her. Skylar came running back towards us, a panicked look on her face.

"Horace isn't picking up." She told us, breathless. "Neither is Liv, or Jaime, or Spotlight, or anyone at Mighty Med."

Suddenly, I felt a weight drop in my chest. Something was wrong. Something big.

"We need to get back, now." Oliver decided. Dani nodded.

"Where's the wormhole transporter?" She demanded, reaching into her back and shuffling through it.

"I got it." I assured her, reaching into the bag and pulling out the device. I pressed the button on it, and we disappeared back to Philadelphia.

** Xxx **

When I pressed that button, I figured that at worse, there was a siege going on at Mighty Med. Like all the villains were breaking out of Mighty Max and into the hospital. To me, that was the worst case scenario.

What we found was a million times worse.

"Oh my god." Skylar's hands flew up to her mouth as we all stared at the destruction around us. We should have come out of the wormhole in the middle of the rec room, but instead, we were surrounded by smoke and still burning fires. The sky was grey from ash. Most of the walls of the hospital, both Mighty Med and the Memorial Hospital for Normos, were destroyed. Some were completely gone, while others were left half-standing, the largest of which carried the Mighty Med 'M' logo, proving that we were in the right place. Broken gurneys and medical equipment lay shattered on the ground, also half-obliterated. I knew immediately that this hadn't been a siege – this looked more like a bombing site than anything else. It was horrible. It was all truly horrible, with an apocalyptic vibe. But the worst part were the bodies.

I didn't see them at first – the smoke and debris hid them well – but then, I started noticing the limp arm, or the bloodied hospital gown. I didn't recognized many of them, thank goodness, but I had the feeling that if we looked, there'd be too many familiar faces around.

"How could this happen?" Oliver whispered, aghast and horrified.

"T-There might be survivors." I heard myself saying. I felt like I was in a dream or, rather, a nightmare. "We should look. See if we can help."

"O-Okay." Dani nodded shakily.

"Keep on guard." Skylar told us as we began to split up, looking through the rubble and debris. I wanted to stop, right then and there, because there wasn't likely to be many survivors. But I was a doctor, and so were the others, and if anyone could help these people, we could, right? Especially if they were superheroes.

As I went through the wreckage, things just got worse. I started recognizing some of the broken bodies and the torn uniforms. "Oh, Benny." I sighed, looking down at the nurse when I found him. I'd never been appreciative enough of the nurse, and the last thing he did for us, possibly the last thing he ever did, was try to help my best friend and my best girl save their mother.

"AHH!" My head snapped up at the sound of a high-pitched shriek. I had barely just recognized the voice as Dani's when I started running. She came crashing into me first, burying her face in my shoulder as she shook violently.

"Hey, hey, hey." I heard footsteps come up behind me as I held her, but I didn't look, knowing that it would be Oliver and Skylar. I rubbed her back, trying to calm her down. "What's-"

I broke off as my gaze locked onto a body sitting in the middle of debris. I felt my breath catch in my throat as I recognized it, and I just felt…angry, confused, shocked…all at once.

He laid limply across a piece of a broken gurney, his sightless eyes exposed to the darkening sky. His lab coat was torn and burnt, the white fabric blackened at the ends, and the left sleeve completely gone. A stream of blood coming from his mouth stained his goatee, his mouth frozen in a ghost of a smile. He must have died instantly, I thought, for it to still be in that expression. Not that it was in any way a comfort.

"Is that…" Skylar stared in horror at the scene before her. When she finished her sentence, her voice broke and tears began to stream down her face. "Horace?"

"Who could have done this?" Oliver looked as shocked as I felt.

For a long time now, Horace had taken on the role of a father-figure for all of us. Dani and Oliver never saw their father, Skylar didn't have one, and mine was constantly busy with my other siblings, so the way Horace treated us, with respect and, dare I say it, love, had meant everything to us. And now, the one man we all truly looked up to lay dead at our feet. This just…it couldn't be happening. This had to be some sort of nightmare, a bad dream that I could wake up from, right? This couldn't be real.

But the way Dani hid herself from the truth in my arms, and the sounds of Skylar trying not to cry, and Oliver's pained stare told me that this was, in fact, reality. "They're going to pay. Whoever did this, they're going to get justice."

We weren't heroes, we were kids. But, by the looks of this war zone, we might be the only ones left who could avenge the others. So if we had to grow up and become the heroes our friends needed us to be, so be it. But justice would be served, if it was the last thing we ever did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dani, Kaz, Oliver, and Skylar will be joining Calla, Chase, and Bree in The Power of Seven: The New Mission.


End file.
